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Full text of "Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages, Vol. 37: Two Grammatical Studies"

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2 Morphology 

2.1 Nominals 

2.1.1 Nouns 

A noun functions as the head of the MP. Nouns cannot take the causative marker a- and 
only nouns can be formed into adjectives by the derivational suffix -an. 

2.1.1.1 Proper Nouns 

Proper nouns cannot be marked at all with a possession marker, nor can they be counted. 
Names of people and places fall into this class. 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

3) *kA-g /iCereiir(J^ereA^ is a woman's name) 
Poss-lSg Kerek 

'myKerek' 

4) * Umbukul-imem ( Umbukul is a village name) 
Umbukul- 1 PlurExPoss 

'our Umbukul' 

2.1.1.2 Common Nouns 
Common nouns can be alienably or inalienably possessed. 

2.1.1.2.1 Alienably Possessed Nouns 

There is a class of nouns that can be distinguished by the fact that, when possessed, they 
take a possessive pronoun preceding the noun. This type of possession is loosely bound 
(alienable) to the possessor. 

5) kA-g airu 
Poss-lSg woman 
'my wife' 

6) JcA-mem keve viu 
Poss-lPlurEx Plur betelnut 
'ourbetelnuts' 

7) kA-mem ngono posong 
Poss-lPlurEx two call 
'our two names (for it)' 

2.1.1.2.2 Inalienably Possessed Nouns 

There is a class of nouns that, when possessed, must have a possessive person mark as 
suffix. 

This type of possession is more tightly bound (inalienable) to the possessor. These nouns 
consist of body parts, and most kinship terms. 

8) pukun-iriA 
body-3SgPoss 
'its body' 

9) ngur-urJA 
mouth-3PlurPoss 
'their mouths' 

Many abstract nouns can be considered as being alienably or inalienably possessed 
depending on the person's view of the possession relationship. For example, the noun asAn 
'name', in the usual sense of an appellation, is not part of the person like the same noun 
when it is referring to the person's reputation. 



Lesley Fast 

10) Aa-tu asAH 
Poss-3Sg name 
'his name' 

11) asAn-iuA 
name-3SgPoss 
'his reputation' 

2.1.1.3 Mass Nouns 

There is a distinction of nouns based on the numerical system they use. Mass nouns 
cannot be counted, nor can they take a pluralizing marker. Some nouns included in this 
group are: 

lanuji 'water' 

roe 'ground' 

konc 'sand' 

inatus 'children' 

12) kA-g (*kcve) inatus ki-po kkovek 
Poss-lSg children 3PlurSAgr-Cont not.hcre 
'My children are not here.' 

13) ri aioA ki-po kap (*ri) hnun 
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr-Cont fetch water 
"The women are fetching water.' 

2.1.1.4 Numeral 

2.1.1.4.1 Cardinal Numerals 

The numerical system described in this section is still used widely in the speech 
community. 

The system is based on groups of five and ten. The numerals 1 — 4 are mono-morphemic 
words. 

sikci 'one' 

ponguA 'two' 

potol 'three' 

puat 'four' 

The numeral 5 is made up of two morphemes. 

14) pal-pal lima 
Redup-area five 

Numerals from 6 — 9 arc based on 5 plus 1, 2, 3, and 4. The structure is: 

lima (5) + Ic (from) + Numeral 

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Tungak Grammar Essentials 

15) lima-Ie-sikei 
five-from-one 
'six' 

The morphemes for 2-4 in this construction are shortened. The first syllable is omitted and 
in the case of 3 there is a vowel change for o to u. 

puat -> -at 
ponguA. -> -nguA 
potol -> -tul 

16) lima-Je-at 
five-from-four 
'nine* 

Numerals upwards from ten are conjoined numerals. 

17) SAngAuli na potol 
ten and three 
'thirteen' 

18) SAngAuli na lima-le-at 

ten and five-from-four 

'nineteen' 

To group tens and hundreds the cardinal numerals are used. 

19) potol a SAngAuli 
three Dcf ten 
'thirty' 

'Hundred' consists of two morphemes, the second meaning 'ten'. 

20) lelen-SAngAuli 
?-ten 
'hundred' 

An example of a complex numeral: 

21) puat a Men-SAngAuli na 
four Def 'J-ten and 

lima-le-sikei a SAUgAuli na sikci 
five-from-one Def ten and one 

'four hundred and sixty one' 



Lesley Fast 

2.1.1.4.2 Ordinal Numerals 

The morpheme a~va~la is prefixed to the counting numeral to form the ordinal number. 
Structure of the ordinal noun phrase: 

Ordinal NP = +Ord +Nmr +/ +NP/Person Marker 

22) la-pongUA i /ia 
Ord-two Gen 3Sg 
'the second thing' 

23) a-potol i kA-g keve nat 
Ord-three Gen Poss-lSg Plur boy 
'the third of my sons' 

24) va ponguA i ppAD-buk ke 
Ord two Gen leaf-book Dem 
'this second letter' 

'First' and 'last' are adverbial forms. 

25) ai-ao-ai i m 
Loc-front-? Gen 3Plur 
'The first of them' 

26) a-kAmus-ai i Uun 
Cs-finish-? Gen time/day 
'the last time/day' 

2.1.1.4.3 Distributive 

Distributive numerals are formed by reduplication of the first CVC of the counting 
numeral. 

27) e vingA-rA sik-sikei 
at stomache-lPlurlncPoss Dist-one 

'in each of our stomachs' (Long bel bilong yumi wanwan) 

28) ri aioA ki ta pAsal 
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Past go 

pong-ponguA 
Dist-two 

'The women went two by two.' 

2.1.1.5 Pan- Whole Words 

There is a small set of words that modify nouns marking them as being part of a whole. 
Depending on what noun is being modified, one of these words will be used. There is 

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Tungak Grammar Essentials 

some overlap, that is, some nouns can be modified witli more than one of these part-whole 
words. A more m depth semantic study would need to be done to determine the exact 
relauonship. Smce it is possible for these part-whole words to take possessive morpholocv 
they are analysed as nominal premodifiers of nouns. 

29) volo nat ke ki ngAut 
Spec boy Dcm 3PlurSAgr cuLgrass 
"This group of boys will cut grass.' 

30) nikun nat ke ki ngAut 
Spec boy Dem 3PlurSAgr cuLgrass 
"This group of boys will cut grass.' 

31) kA-m rukun kAU 
Poss-2Sg Spec sweet.potato 

'Your small pile of sweet potato' (said when giving a gift) 
Free translation: 'Here are some sweet potatoes for you.' 

These words may occur without the noun they modify but it is always imnlicit from the 
context. 

32) rukun lik palau 
Spec small just 

'just a few (crabs, in this instance)' 

2.1.1.6 Specifier 

The specifier, mang, can mean 'a certain' or simply 'a'. It also can have the meaning of 
'other' or 'another'. 

33) kA-g mang keve bil 
Poss-lSg Spec Plur thing 
'my other things' 

34) mang kAvulik si Rovi 
Spec girl Gen Rovi 
'a daughter of Rovi's' 

35) kA-g mang sikci a tAun ro-ro-nro-ro-n 
Poss-lSg Spec one Def time Redup-good-? 

'My one good day' ('a good time 1 had once' title of story) 

2.1.1.7 Derived Nouns 

2.1.1.7.1 Movement Into Noun Slot 

Nouns arc most commonly derived by moving words of other classes into the place that 
the noun normally takes in the noun phrase. 



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Lesley Fast 

36) predicate complement: 

ri kAvulik ki po unik a-lAv\ 

Plur girl 3PlurSAgr Cont happy Cs-big 
'The girls are very happy.' 

37) noun: 

kA-ri umk Ica po Uva 

Poss-3Plur happy 3SgSAgr Cont big 
'Their happiness is great.' 

38) verb: 

Nuval kA ta ttAngAm anongo 

Nuvat 3SgSAgr Past sing yesterday 

'Nuvat sang yesterday.' 

39) noun: 

mi ta longong a ttAngAm 

2PlurSAgr Past hear Dcf sing 

TO ang si Nuvat? 
good Dem Gen Nuvat 

'Did you hear that good singing of Nuvat's?' 

The above noun derivation should not be confused with the clause tliat is prefixed by a 
possessi\'e pronoun and therefore makes it look like a NP, particularly when the clause is 
reduced to the verb only. This kind of clause is used for expressing purpose. See section 
5.2.2 on the purpose sentence. 

2.1.1.7.2 Derivation by Reduplication 

A few cases ha\ e been found where reduplication seems to form nouns from verbs. The 
first CVC 0.' the verb is reduplicated. 

torn" 'have' -> tog-togon 'possessions' 

40) verb: 

ki po logon hil miang 

3PlurSAgr Cont have thing many 
'They have many things.' 

41) noun: 

kA-ri tog-togon kA po miang 

Poss-3Plur Redup-havc 3SgSAgr Cont many 
'Their po.ssession is plentiful.' 



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Tungak Grammar Essentials 



2.1.1.8 Possession 



This is a discussion of the possessive conslruciion at the word level. For a description of 
the possessive construction at phrase level see section 3.1.3 in which the possessive phrase 
is discussed. 

2.1.1.8.1 Possessive Pronoun Preceding the Noun 
This construction marks alienable possession on nouns. 

Possessive Pronoun = Possessive (^a) + Person Marker 

42) kA-rA keve lu 
Poss-lPlurInc Plur house 
'our (inclusive) houses' 

2.1.1.8.2 Possession Marked by Affixation 
This construction marks inalienable possession on nouns. 

Possession Construction = +Noun +Person Marker 

Morphophonemic rule: When the person marker follows a noun ending in a consonant, / 
must be inserted between the noun and the person marker. For nouns ending in r the 
phoneme u is inserted between the two. Nouns ending in a vowel have no insertion. 

C +i +Person 

r +u +Person 

V +Person 

43) Us-'imng 
sibling.same.sex-lDlIncPoss 
'our (two) brother' 

44) tivu-mem 
grand.relation- 1 PlurExPoss 
'our grandparent/ancestor' 

45) ngw-ug 
moulh-lSgPoss 
'my mouth' 

2.1.1.8.3 Construction Using si 

Alienably possessed nouns have another type of possession construction, alternative to the 
possessive pronoun preceding the noun as in 5-7 above. It is constructed as follows: 

a) NP +si +NP 



Lesley Fast 

46) nat si Vulau 
boy Gen Vulau 
'Vulau's son' 

The second MP can be replaced by a person marker, in which case the particle ngi must 
occur between si and the person marker as follows: 

b) +NP +si +ngi +Person Marker 

47) nat si ngi iia. 
boy Gen ? 3Sg 
'his son' 

48) kcve la 7a va si ngi mem 
Plur house big Gen ? IPlurEx 
'our (exclusive) big houses' 

It should be noted that the particle ngi seems to be dependent on the presence of si and 
also occurs where si is not functioning in a possessive construction but is required because 
of the person marking. 

2.1.1.8.4 Summary of Person Possession Affixes 

All of the above possessive constructions use the same set of person markers. These are 
outlined in figure 1. 





1 


2 


3 


Sg 


■g 


-m 


-riA 


Dl 
DlEx 
Dlinc 


-mcmlong 
-rung 


■milong 


-rilong 


Trl 
TrlEx 
Trllnc 


-memttol 

-TAttOl 


-mittol 


-rittol 


Plur 
PlurEx 
Plurinc 


-mem 


-mi 


-ri/riA 



Fig. 1 Person Possessive Affixes 
Third person plural -m is obligatory after ngi. 



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Tungak Grammar Essentials 

49) 



vol 


si 


ngi-iu. 


canoe 


Gen 


?-3Plur 


'their 


canoe' 



2.1.1.9 Pluralization 

There are two morphemes that mark plural. Singular is unmarked. Of these two plural 
markers, one is used to mark indefinite nouns, r/, and the other to mark definite nouns, 
keve. 

50) kA-n\ keve k^uvek 
Poss-3Sg Plur dog 
'his dogs' 

51) ri kAUvek 
Plur dog 
'the dogs' 

The Plural marker ri is used as an honorific form of address to women with children. Note 
the difference in the following two examples. 

52) ri Us-im 

Plur(Hon) sibling.of.same.sex-2SgPoss 
'your sister (Hon)' 

53) keve Us-im 

Plur sibling.of.same.sex-2SgPoss 
'your sisters' 

This marker is also used when one name stands for a group. 

54) UniA-riA i ri Makago 
father-3PlurPoss Gen Plur Makago 
'the father of Makago (with his siblings)' 

55) ri Metemaung ki la screi vang 
Plur Metemaung 3PlurSAgr Perf arrive Emph 
'The people of Metemaung village have arrived.' 

2.1.1.10 Deictics 

There are two sets of deicdcs that contrast near and far. One pair modifies a MP. The other 
pair is used only in the stative clause and has the meaning of 'to be'. Related to these 
deictics are the locative morphemes, kke 'here' and suke 'there'. There is another set of 
deictics that does not contrast near and far. These refer to known information. The 
demonstrative ang refers to a previously mentioned or understood noun, whereas the 
demonstrative iang refers to a previously mentioned or understood location. I would 
consider these latter two deictics as having chiefly a discourse function. 



17 



These deictics are charted in figures 2 and 3 below: 

NEAR FAR 



Locative in NP kke suke 

Dem. in NP ke suke 

Dem. in NP kAiu suIca/u 

Fig. 2 Deictics at Phrase and Clause Level 

Refers to Noun Refers to Location 

ang iang 

Fig. 3 Deictics at Discourse Level 

Some examples to illustrate the use of these deictics: 

1) Locative Morphemes at Phrase Level 

56) kA-po kkovek e kke 
3SgSAgr-Cont absent at here 
"He is not here.' 

57) p\sal ane suke 
go to there 
'Go over there.' 

2) Demonstrative in NP 

58) Jteve nat suke ki po sog na keve 
Plur boy Dem.(far) 3PlurSAgr Cont net.fish and Plur 

nat ke ki po ttere palau 

boy Dem.(near) 3PlurSAgr Cont watch just 

'Those boys are net fishing and these boys are just watching.' 

59) igenen ke kA po has a mamai 

man Dem.(ncar) 3SgSAgr Cont know Dcf father ISgPoss 
'This man knows my father.' 

60) ai/iA suke kA po gAlui VAkup 
woman Dem.(far) 3SgSAgr Cont wash clothes 
'That woman is washing clothes.' 

3) Demonsuative as Complement in Equative Clause 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

When the demonstrative functions as the predicate complement in the equative clause it is 
marked with -ne. 

61) full clause: 
Kunak kAiu 
Kunak Dem.(near) 
"This is Kunak.' 

62) full clause: 

kA-g lu sukjjiA 
Poss-lSg house Dem.(far) 
'That is my house.' 

4) Dcictics at Discourse Level 

a) Referring to Nouin: 

63) iJA la sabon-ai ani selen lik ang 
ISgSAgr Perf find-? Obj path small Dem 
'1 found the small path.' (referred to previously) 

64) igenen ang Jca la muip nei lanuji 
man Dem 3SgSAgr Perf submerge in water 
'The man (referred to previously) submerged in the water.' 

b) Referring to Place: 

65) kA po ago e iang 
3SgSAgr Cont be at Dem 

'He is there (at the place already referred to).' 

2.1.2 Pronouns 

Pronouns are a closed set of items used to substitute for a noun or noun phrase. There are 
three basic types. 

2.1.2.1 Personal Pronouns 

2.1.2.1.1 Subject Pronoun 

Subject pronouns are free pronouns as seen in the following example. 

66) naa ha an iuk kkut 
ISgSPm ISgSAgr Mot.away get firewood 
'I will get firewood.' 

The subject pronouns have the following forms: 



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Lesley Fast 





1 


2 


3 


Sg 


nau 


numai 


nin/A 


Dl 
DlEx 
Dlinc 


namemlong 

tATUng 


namilong 


rilong 


Trl 
TrlEx 
Trllnc 


namemttol 

tATAttOl 


namittol 


rittol 


Plur 
PlurEx 
Plurinc 


namem 

tAIA 


nami 


ririA 



Fig. 4 Subject Pronouns 
The following contractions occur interchangeably with the full forms: 



namem -> nem 


'IPlurEx' 


mniA -> HM 


'3Sg' 


nr/A -> HA 


'3Plur' 



The full form of IDlInc, if it were regular, would be tAr/Jong but only the contracted form 
tATung is used. 

2.1.2.1.2 Object Pronouns 

Object pronouns are formed in the following way: 

Object Pronoun = +Object Marker +Person Marker 

There are two forms of this object marker. One marks an object of higher definitencss i- 
and the other marks an object of lower dcfmitcness ani-. It should be noted here that if the 
object is a full NP, the definite NPO will not be prefixed by j- as in the pronoun, but 
rather with a ~ na. But the indefinite object marker, ani, remains the same whether the 
object is a full NP or simply a pronoun. 

67) object pronoun: 

HA ta a-bis a-rikek i-A 

ISgSAgr Past Cs-build Cs-bad Obj-3Sg 
'I built it badly (I made a mess of it).' 

68) full NPO: 

HA ta a-bis a-rikek a lu ke 

ISgSAgr Past Cs-build Cs-bad Obj house this 
'I built this house badly.' 



on 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

69) object pronoun: 

JCA la a-r-ai ani-A 

3SgSAgr Perf Cs-see-? Obj-3Sg 
'She saw her.' 

70) full NPO: 

kA la a-r-ai ani kAvuIik ang 

3SgSAgr Perf Cs-see-? Obj girl Dem 
'She saw the girl' 

All the plural person markers are the same following both i and ani. The singular person 
markers differ. Hence figure 3 below shows the two morphemes together for the singular 
pronouns but for the plimd pronouns, only the person endings need be given. 





1 


2 


3 


Sg 


i-AU 

ani-g 


UA 

ani-m 


i'-A 

ani-A 


Dl 
DlEx 
Dlinc 


-memlong 
-rung 


-milong 


-rilong 


Trl 
TrlEx 
Trllnc 


-memttol 
-rAttol 


-mittol 


-rillol 


Plur 
PlurEx 
Plurinc 


-mem 

-TA 


-mi 


-rJA 



Fig. 5 Object Pronouns 



Notice that the singular person markers following / are somewhat irregular, in particular 
2Sg, UA, which is a reduced form. It is worth noting that the Soi dialect of Tungak has the 
more regular form i-am, whereas Tigak has the form u-am. 

2.1.2.1.3 Subject Agreement in the Verb Phrase 

Subject agreement (SAgr) is obligatory in the Verb Phrase as seen in the following 
examples. 

71) Sition kA ta tAngA /-a ta ngAnig 
Sition 3SgSAgr Past chop Obj-3Sg Instr axe 
'Sition chopped it with an axe.' 

72) ri ainA Id la tA-Uun ani keve pok 
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Perf Redup-cook Obj Plur food 
'The women cooked the food.' 



Lesley Fast 

73) rnxn ku serei da ka a-llis im ta kA-g suIa 
if 2SgSAgr come ISgSAgr Int Cs-give Obj2Sg Instr Poss-lSg spear 
'If you come, I will give you my spear.' 

74) tATA a-ongos Iaia sinong 
IPlurlncSPm Cs-all IPlurlncSAgr sit 
'All of us, let us sit.' 

Subject agreement is marked with the following set of morphemes: 





1 


2 


3 


Sg 


HA 


ku 


kA 


Dl 
DlEx 
Dlinc 


namemlong 
tATung 


milong 


kilong 


Trl 
TrlEx 
Trllnc 


namemttol 

tATAtlOl 


mitlol 


kiltol 


Plur 
PlurEx 
Plurlnc 


namem 

tATA 


mi 


ki 



Fig. 6 Subject Agreement Morphemes 



In the above subject agreement morphemes, the same contraction rules apply as in the free 
subject pronouns. (See Fig. 2) 

75) nem a-ongos nem sinong 

IPlurExSPm Cs-all IPlurExSAgr sit 
'We all, we sat' 

2.1.2.2 Possessive Pronouns 

The possessive pronoun comprises ke- followed by person possessive agreement markers as 
detailed in fig.l. 

2.1.2.3 Interrogative Pronouns 

Interrogative pronouns substitute for the questioned item. They are: 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 



sa 


'what' 


si 


'who' 


angisan 


'when' 


voi 


'where' 


saka...an 


'how/which' 


poisAii 


'how many' 


12 Verbals 





It is not possible to formally distinguish adjectives from verbs. Both can function as the 
predicate of the clause and both can take the causative marker a-. A distinction is 
maintained only on a functional basis. 

2.2.1 Verbs 

2.2.1.1 Verb classes 

2.2.1.1.1 Verbs Occurring With the -ai Suffix 

There is a group of verbs which 1 have not found occurring without the -ai suffix. 

Generally speaking, verbs can occur with or without this marker. It seems that this group 
of verbs, perhaps because of the inherent meaning they have, must always have this suffix. 
In any event the meaning of this morpheme is not clear at this point and neither is the 
following list of examples complete. 

There also seems to be a relationship between the marker -a/ and the object marker ani-. 
Unless the object is incorporated into the verb, as in this next example, the object will be 
prefixed by ani-. 

76) parik k*. pa sabon-ai vongo 
not 3SgSAgr Neg find-? pig 
'He did not find pigs.* 

77) parik kA pa sabon-ai ani selen ang 
not SSgSAgr Neg find-? Obj path Dem 
'He did not find the path.' 

78) ki-la a-r-ai ani vul ang 
3PlurSAgr-Perf Cs-see-? Obj canoe Dem 
'They saw the canoe.' 

79) nA-po buk lu ta ku me pakang-ai ani-g 
ISgSAgr-Cont want Obj2Sg that 2SgSAgr Mot.toward help-? Bnf-lSg 
'I want you to come help me.' 

2.2.1.1.2 Verbs That Change Length of Initial Consonant 

There is a class of verbs that have either a short or long initial consonant depending on 
whether they are higher or lower on the transitivity scale (Hoppcr/Tliompson, 1980). High 

23 



Lesley Fast 

transitivity is marked by a short form of the consonant and an obligatory object. Low 
transitivity is marked by a long form of the consonant and no object. The following pairs 
of examples illustrate this difference. 

kkinle vs. kinle 

80) lower transitivity: 

HA-an kkinle 

lSgSAgr-Mot.away recognize 

'I'll go (and see if I) recognize (those people).' 

81) higher transitivity: 

parik lu-ta-pa kinle ua 

not ISgSAgr-Past-Neg recognize Obj2Sg 
'I did not recognize you.* 

dAg vs. rAg 'scrape/shred' 

82) lower transitivity: 

ri ai/u ki-po dAg 

Plur woman 3PlurSAgr-Cont scrape/shred 

"The women are scrape/shredding (tapiok). ' 

83) higher transitivity: 

ku TAg na vuk tapiok ke 

2SgSAgr scrape/shred Dcf piece tapiok Dem 
'You scrape/shred this piece of tapiok! * 

2.2.1.1.3 Speech Verbs 

There is a class of verbs that obligatorily take direct or indirect speech after them. For the 
construction of the speech clause see Section 4.2.1. 

84) kA-la antok ta parik 
3SgSAgr-Perf say Sintr no 
'He said, "No."' 

85) kA-la sui i-AU ta au numai ve si 
3SgSAgr-Perf ask Obj-lSg Sintr Excl 2SgSPm with who 
'She asked me, "Well, who is with you?"' 

86) namemlong-la sokottuk i-a ta kA ago pok 
IDlExSAgr-Perf beg Obj-3Sg Sintr 3SgSAgr remain back 
'We two tegged him to remain.' 

There are two speech verbs which can occur with or without speech following them. I view 
this as syntactic optionality. When they do not have reported speech following them, these 
verb are focussing' on the action of talk. These two verbs are mengen 'talk' and a-kus 'tell'. 



24 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

87) kA-po meagen a-UvA 
3SgSAgr-Cont talk Cs-big 
'He is talking loudly.* 

88) lu-ka a-kns lu ta asAn ke Umbukul 
ISgSAgr-lnt Cs-tell Obj2Sg ? name Dem Umbukul 
'I want to tell you about this name, Umbukul.' 

2.2.1.1.4 Intransitive Verbs 

2.2.1.1.4.1 Non-derived Intransitive Verbs 

The different semantic shades of non-derived intransitive verbs all function suiicturally the 
same way. Verbs in this class may not take an NPO after them but may take other post- 
nuclear phrases after them. 

89) HA-po buk pATA ve numai 
ISgSAgr-Cont want be.awake with 2SgSPm 
'I want to be awake (visit) with you.' 

90) ri vap ki-la rot a-ongos 
Plur people 3PlurSAgr-Perf sleep Cs-all 
"The people were fast asleep.' 

91) igenen ang kA-la muip nei lanun 
man Dem 3SgSAgr-Perf submerge in water 
'The man submerged in the water.' 

2.2.1. \ A. 2 Derived Intransitive Verbs 

There is a class of intransitive verbs that can be formed into spontaneous action intransitive 
verbs by the prefix U. 

92) JcA-nA vul kA la U-vungum 
Poss-3sg canoe 3SgSAgr Perf Spon-tip 
'His canoe tipped.' 

93) kA la U-putuk a kAk-iriA i ri iuia 
3SgSAgr Perf Spon-break Def leg-3SgPoss Gen Plur(Hon) mother. ISgPoss 
'My mother's leg broke.' 

94) JtA la U-dek na vul ang 
3SgSAgr Perf Spon-split Def canoe Dem 
'The canoe split.' 

2.2.1.1.5 Transitive Verbs 

This class of verbs must have an object after them. They are intrinsically transitive and 
cannot take the causative marker a-. 



Lesley Fast 

95) Siavor k^-ta hmut a icn ta naip 
Siavor 3SgSAgr-past cut Def fish Instr knife 
'Siavor cut the fish with a knife.' 

96) ggot i-A ta angus 
tie Obj-3Sg Instr vine 
'Tie it with a vine.' 

These verbs may also incorporate their objects and in such case there will be no object 
maricing. Object incorporation occurs when the speaker views the object as part of the 
activity of the VP. This can be seen in the position of the adverb within the VP. The 
following two examples illustrate the difference between a regular definite object and an 
incorporated object. In the first example notice the usual pre-object position of the adverb 
till 'en-route'. In the second example the speaker views the action to be 'pig-tying' and 
notice that now the adverb comes after the incorporated object. 

97) HA-ta got lul kA-g vongo 
ISgSAgr-Past tie en.route Poss-lSg pig 

'I tied-up my pig en-route.' 

98) HA-ta got vongo tul 
ISgSAgr-Past tie pig en.route 
'I pig-tied en-route' 

2.2.1.2 Verb Compounds 

There are many cases of double actions that are expressed by compounding two verbs into 
the usual verb slot in the VP. In most cases these verbs are not changed in any way and 
can also stand on their own. The exceptions that should be noted are where the first verb is 
a reduced form. 

99) tAng-leng (the full form of 'cry' is tAngis) 
cry-fear 

'cry in fear' 

Several more common verbs that compound with a variety of verbs are here noted. 

tAngA-ttok 'chop-cut' 

tAHgA-dek 'chop-split' 

tAHgA-suai 'chop-remove' 

luk-suai 'get-remove' 

pAsal-suai 'go-remove* (go away) 

lomon-suai 'think-rcmove'(forgive) 

More in depth study will need to be done on this phenomenon of verb compounds. 



26 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

2.2.1.3 Derivation of Verbs Using Causative Prefix 

Certain intransitive verbs and adjectives are readily changed into transitive verbs by 
prefixing the causative marker a to them. 

Derived Transitive Verb = +a -flntransitive Verb/Adjective 

100) UmA-rJA kA-la a-mara-marak j-m 
father-3PlurPoss 3SgSAgr-Perf Cs-Redup-happy Obj-3Plur 
"Their father encouraged them. ' 

101) nau WL-ta a-tang a lu ke 
ISgSPm ISgSAgr-Past Cs-stand Obj house this 
'I erected this house.' 

2.2.1.4 Reflexive Verbs 

Verbs which can have a reflexive meaning are marked as such by the use of the adverb pok 
'back' in the VP. 

102) Ngen kA-ta Umut pok i-x 
Ngen 3SgSAgr-Past cut Rflx Obj-3Sg 
'Ngen cut himself.' 

103) ri-nnK-riA ki-ta TAung pok i-riA 
Plur(Hon)-mother-3PlurPoss 3Plur(Hon)SAgr-Past kill Rflx Obj-3Plur(Hon) 
"Their mother killed herself.' 

2.2.1.5 Reciprocal Verbs 

Many verbs can have a reciprocal form. The prefix ang- marks the verb as reciprocal. There 
are two types of reciprocal action: 

Type A: participants do something among themselves - no NPO 

Type B: participants do something to each other - has NPO 

104) Type A: 

au, milong-po ang-tung sa? 

well 2DlExSAgr-Cont Recip-stand what 
'Well, what are you two standing around for?' 

105) Type A: 

inguA kA-la Ilu I-a na k Hong-la ang-lu-Uun 

devil 3SgSAgr-Perf chase Obj-3Sg and 3DISAgr-Perf Recip-Redup-chase 

e selen 
on road 

'The devil chased him(man) and they (two) chased each other on the road.' 



Lesley Fast 

The reciprocal marker may also attach to the reflexive adverb. 

106) TypeB: 

ki-ta-po angan ang-pok-pok-ai ani-riA 

3PlurSAgr-Past-Cont eat Recip-Redup-Rflx-? Mlf-3Plur 
"They were eating each other.' 

2.2.2 Adjectives 

2.2.2. 1 Classes and Co-occurence 

Adjectives function in the NP to post-modify the noun. There is very rarely more than one 
adjective modifying a noun. When there are two classes together colour and size can co- 
occur and size and quality can co-occur. Their order can be seen in the following examples: 

107) kAUVck miting /ava 
dog black big 
'a big black dog' 

108) lu lik ro 
house small good 
'a good small house' 

The adjective lik 'small', when occurring after another adjective, has the function of 
modifying that adjective ruihcr than the Noun. 

109) lu ro lik 
house good small 

*a slightly good house (mediocre house)' 

2.2.2.2 Derivation 

2.2.2.2.1 Movement to Adjective Slot 

Words of other classes occasionally function as adjectives by means of fllling the adjective 
sIoL 

110) igenen ttAngAm 
man sing 

'a singer' 

111) pUTA aiDA. 

chicken woman 
•hen' 

2.2.2.2.2 The Suffix -an 

Another way of deriving an adjective is by means of adding the suffix -an onto nouns. 
Derived Adjective = +Noun +an 

2R 



Lesley Fast 

The reciprocal marker may also atiach to the reflexive adverb. 

106) TypeB: 

ki-la-po angan ang-pok-pok-ai ani-riA 

3PlurSAgr-Pasi-Coni eat Rccip-Redup-Rfk-? Mlf-3Plur 
"lliey were eaiing each other." 

2.2.2 Adjectives 

2.2.2. 1 Classes and Co-occurence 

Adjectives function in ihe NP lo post-modify the noun. There is very rarely more than one 
adjective modifying a noun. When there are two classes together colour and size can co- 
occur and size and quality can co-occur. Their order can be seen irk the following examples: 

107) kAUVck miting Uva 
dog black big 
'a big black dog' 

108) lu lik m 
house small good 
'a good small house' 

The adjective lik 'small', when occurring after another adjective, has the function of 
modifying that adjective rather than the Noun. 

109) lu w lik 
house good small 

'a slightly good house (mediocre house)' 

2.2.2.2 Derivation 

2.2.2.2.1 Movement to Adjective Slot 

Words of other classes occasionally function as adjectives by means of filling the adjective 
slot. 

110) igenen tUngAtn 
man sing 

'a singer' 

111) pwA aioA 
chicken woman 
'hen' 

2.2.2.2.2 The Suffix -an 

Another way of deriving an adjective is by means of adding the suffix -an onto nouns. 
Derived Adjective = +Noun +an 

28 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

The following examples are all the data of this type of derivation that have been found so 
far. A more precise description of this class will have to wait until more data are gathered. 

112) ring ke kA-po lang-an 

place this 3SgSAgr-Cont fly (insect)-Adjz 
"This place is full of flies.' 

1 1 3) ring iat-an 
place stone-Adjz 
'rocky place' 

1 14) nci lamAti kA-po to-aa 

in water 3SgSAgr-Cont wave-Adjz 
"The sea is wavy (rough)' 

115) Uun Ungit-an 
time rain-Adjz 
'rainy time' 

2.2.2.3 Adjectives in Descriptive Clause 

Adjectives occur as predicative complement in descriptive clauses. (Sec also section 
4. 1 .2.2 on descriptive clause.) 

1 16) ri kAVulik ki-po uruk 
Plur girl 3PlurSAgr-Cont happy 
'The girls are happy.' 

All adjectives except one can occur in this position in the same form as when they modify 
nouns in the MP. The exception is lik 'small'. This adjective must be in a reduplicated 
form if it occurs in the descriptive clause. 

117) modifier in NP: 

ri nat lik ki-po a-si-sing 

Plur boy small 3PlurSAgr-Cont Cs-Redup-bathe 

'The small boys are bathing.' 

1 18) complement in descriptive clause: 
kA-nA nat kA-po lik-lik 
Poss-3Sg boy 3SgSAgr-Cont Redup-small 
'His boy is small.' 



29 



Lesley Fast 

2.2.2.4 Quantifiers duk, miang 

Tlicse two words can function both as adjectives modifying the noun as wcH as adjectives 
in a descriptive clause. 

119) adjective in NP: 

aiiu miang ki la pAsal 

woman many 3PlurSAgr Pcrf go 
'Many women went.' 

120) adjective in descriptive clause: 

ri uiiiA ki po miang 

Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Com many 
'The women are many.' 

The word miang seems to have the meaning of many individuals whereas the word duk 
refers to a mass situation. So in the example below the speaker is focussing on the fact tliat 
tlie water is full of fish. 

121) ri icn ki po duk nei laman 
Plur fish 3PlurSAgr Cont full in water 

'The fish are plentiful in the water.' (the water is full of fish) 

Both of these quantifiers have their corresponding opposiics. 

duk 'full' vs VAUVAU 'empty' 
miang 'many' vs menlik 'few' 

2.2.3 Adverbs 

Adverbs function in tlie verb phrase as modifiers of Verbs. 

2.2.3.1 Derived Adverbs 

Adjectives and verbs witli a causative prefix a- become adverbs. 

2.2.3.1.1 Adverbs Derived from Adjectives 

Derived Adverb = +a +Adjective 

122) ki-po pAsal a-ng^u 
3PlurSAgr-Conl walk Cs-weak 
'They arc walking slowly.' 

123) kup a-UvA 
shout Cs-big 
'shout loudly' 



30 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

124) parik nA-pa to a-ro 
not ISgSAgr-Neg live Cs-good 
'I am not feeling well.' 

2.2.3.1.2 Adverbs Derived from Verbs 

Derived Adverb = +a +Verb 

125) kA-la ttak a-tuag a nat ang 
3SgSAgr-Perf pull Cs-stand Dcf boy Dcm 

'She pulled the boy to standing.' (pulled him to a standing position) 

The reason 1 am calling this an adverb rather than a serial verb construction is that the 
adverb can be distinguished from the verb by a sucss difference. 

126) adverb: stress on causal morpheme: 
ttak 'a-tung j-a 

pull Cs-stand Obj-3Sg 

'Pull him up to a standing position.' 

127) transitive verb: stress on verb root: 
a-'tung i-A 

Cs-stand Obj-3Sg 
'Stand it up.' 

Another example of an adverb derived from a verb: 

128) SAng a-putuk anc Rabaul 
run Cs-break to Rabaul 
'Fly across to Rabaul.' 

2.2.3.2 Non-derived Adverbs 

There is a small class of adverbs that is not derived. These items can occur following a 
verb but not as verbs in their own right. They are therefore distinguished from verbs in 
verb compound constructions (see 2.2.1.2.) as well as distinguished from derived adverbs. 

pok 'back' 

lAk 'still, yet' 

pulakai 'about, from place to place' 

Icnginang 'already' 

pAppA 'alone' 

kApA 'also' 

129) fci po pAsal pok 
3SgSAgr Cont go back 
'He is going back.' 



31 



Lesley Fast 

130) HA-Ia SAiig lenginang 
ISgSAgr-Pcrf run alrci^dy 

'1 am running already.' 

131) Jrii an antok i'-a vei Ica wataIa Jlapa 
2SgSAgr MoLaway tell Obj-3Sg lesl 3SgSAgr angry also 
'You go tell him lest he be angry also.' 

132) namem-po pAsal p^ppA 
IPIurSAgr-Conl walk alone 
'We are walking alone* 

In the following example, Uk may occur either preceding the verb or following the verb or 
in both positions in the clause. 

133) parik IaJc ki-pa SAWui Uk i-AU 
not yet 3PIurSAgr-Neg buy Obj ISg 
'They haven't paid me yet.' 

134) kA-po a-bis Uk i-A 
3SgSAgr-Cont Cs-work yet Obj-3Sg 
'He is still building it.' 

135) kA-la SAng pulakai 
3SgSAgr-Pcrf run from. place. to.place 
'He ran about from place to place.' 

136) ninJA lenginang e W/u 
3SgSPm already at village 
'He is already at tlie village.' 

1 37) nau P^PP^ 
ISgSPrn alone 
'only me' 

138) kA-la ko-kos kApA 
3SgSAgr-Perf Redup-board also 
'She also boarded (the canoe).' 

2.2.4 Intensifier 

Intensifiers mark an intensification of an action or state. This may include the meaning of 
intense quantification as 'all'. 

2.2.4.1 Non-dcrivcd intensincr, luai 

139) kA po kkovck luai 
3SgSAgr Com absent Ints 
'There's nothing at all.' 

32 



Tungak Gramimai Essentials 

140) ien lik luai 
fish small very 
'very small fish' 

141) kA-ia pAsal luai 
3SgSAgr-Perf go Inis 
'He has gone all the way.* 

142) fci po bil luai vaI Urnik-iu 
3SgSAgr Com thing Ints as tather-SSgPoss 
'He is exactly like his father.' 

2.2.4.2 Derived Intensifiers 

Derived Intensifie(- = +a +Adjective/Verb 

I have seen only three wortJs that are derived in this way. These are rikek 'bad', ssip 'flee' 
and ongOS which I have not seen in isolation and am simply glossing as 'all'. 

143) ki-Ia buk angan a-iikek 
3SgSAgr-Perf want eat Cs-bad 

'They wanted to eat badly.' (They were very hungry) 

144) TiA-po buk a-rikek i-a 
ISgSAgr-Cont want Cs-bad Obj-3Sg 
'I want him badly." (I like him very much) 

145) h vap a-ongos 
Plur people Cs-all 
'all the people' 

146) nem la angan a-ssip a pok ang 
IPlurSAgr Perf eat Cs-flee Def food Dem 
'We ate all the food.' (or We finished eating the food) 

2.3 Prepositions 

Prepositions are a closed set of items which precede a noun, pronoun or NP to form a 
prepositional phrase. Their functions are described in section 3.3. 

le 'from' 

ane 'to' 

e 'at' 

ai 'at* 

ta 'instrument' 

ve 'accompaniment' 

si 'genitive' 

tend 'temporal genitive' 



33 



Lesley Fast 

2.4 Conjunctions 

2.4. 1 Phrase Level Conjunctions 

The conjunctions na 'and', vc 'with' and vo 'or' join phrases at the phrase level and they 
join words to form compound NPs. (See section 3.1.5) 

2.4.2 Sentence Ixvcl Conjunctions 

There arc a variety of conjunctions that connect clauses within the sentence. These are 
discussed and illustrated in section F. 

2.4.3 Discourse Level Conjunctions 

At the discourse level one conjunction has been identified. This is the conjunction au 
which signals a riiovenicnt to another main section within the discourse. It is found in all 
genre of text and is used by all speakers. For examples of its use in narrative text see 
Appendix B. 

3 Phrase 

3.1 Noun Phrase 

1 he noun phrase functions as an element in the clause. Its head is the only obligatory 
clement. This is normally the noun. 

3.1.1 Phrase with Noun as Head 

(It should first be noted that the possessive pronoun phrase will be discussed in 3.L3 
below. Although it also has the noun as head and is much like the NP discussed in this 
section, 1 discuss it in the section on possessive phrases.) 

If we define the head as being die nucleus of the NP we can view the structure of the NP as 
having three parts; pre-nuclcus, nucleus, and post-nucleus. 

DIAGRAM OF THE NP 



Prc-Nucjeus Head Post-Nucleus 

/bef7 CNum "> Part-whole NOUN Adjl Adj2 Itns Quant Dcm 
]Spcc) ((Nmr+Deip 

In the diagram above, curly braces { ) enclose elements which are in an cilhcr-or 
relationship. The maximum number of elements found in one phrase in text material is 
five elements. 

Prc-nucleus lleati Post-Nucleus 

147) vuk Uuii kudik lik palau 

piece lime short small just 
'just a very short time' 

34 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

The morpheme a~ na 'Def marks the NP as being definite. At this point there is further 
siudy needed to determine the exact function of this particle as well as the occurence 
possibilities. It is obligatory in some instances: 



a) in a phrase with numeral 




Spec Nmr Def Head 


Adjl 


148) mang sikei a VAkil 
Spec one Def cave 
'a certain small cave' 


lik 
small 



b) with direct object when the NPO is definite and is not marked for dcfinitencss in some 
other way, for example with a possessive pronoun. 

149) luk Ic na vim 
get first Def betelnut 
'First, get the betelnut! ' 

150) luk Ic kA-g vuA 
get first Poss-lSg betelnut 
'First, get my betelnut!' 

Following are varied examples of noun phrases: 

Spec Nmr Def Head Adjl 

151) mang ponguA na igcncn posok 
Spec two Def man white 
'two white men' 

Head Dcm 

152) asAn ke 
name Dcm 
'this name' 

Spec Nmr Def Head Adjl Adj2 

153) mang sikei a kAUvck miting Iava 
Spec one Def dog black big 
'a certain big black dog' 

Spec Part-Whole Head Quant 

154) mang mAUn bil duk 
Spec Part-whole thing many 
'a group of many things' 



35 



Lesley Fast 

Head AdjI Ints 

155) ien lik luai 
lish-t- small Ints 
'very small fish' 

3.1.2 Phrase with Pronoun as Head 

This phrase functions in the same way as the MP in 3.1.1 above. Its head is the pronoun, 
the only obligatory element. 

Structure: PmP = +Prn ±Ints(l) ±lnis(2) 

156) nau pA-ppA lik 
ISgSPm Redup-alonc small 
'I alone' 

157) hriA a-ongos 
3PlurSPm Cs-all 
'they air 

158) niruA a-kkorong palau 
3SgSPrn Cs-suaighl just 
'precisely just she' 

3.1.3 Possessive Phrase 

3.1.3.1 Possessive Pronoun Phrase 

The possessive pronoun phrase can function in all ways that the normal MP does (See 
3.1.1 above). Its distinguishing feature is that it has a possessive pronoun as first element 
that marks who the possessor is. Us structure is as follow: 

Possessive Pronoun Phrase = +PossPm +NP 

159) kA-mem keve viu 
Poss-lPlurEx Plur bctelnut 
'our betclnuts' 

160) kA-g lu lik tanginang ke 
Poss-lSg house small new Dcm 
'this new small house of mine' 

161) kA-HA maiig ponguA na nat lik 
Poss-3Sg Spec two Def boy small 
'his other two small boys' 

If a full MP is used to specify the possessor, the NP is attached to the end of the PossPmP 
as follows: 



36 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

162) kA-HA nat a Vulau 
Poss-3Sg boy Def Vulau 
'Vulau'sson' 

3.1.3.2 Possessive Phrase Using Genitive Marker i/si 

Structure: Possessive Phrase = +NP +i/si +NP 

3.1.3.2.1 Inalienably Possessed Nouns / 
Inalienably possessed nouns are followed by the genitive marker i. 

163) pukun-inA i inguA 
body-3SgPoss Gen ghost 
'body of a ghost' 

164) UmA-riA i ri Makago 
father-3PlurPoss Gen Plur Makago 
'Makago's father (Makago with his siblings)' 

3.1.3.2.2 Alienably Possessed Nouns (si) 
Alienably possessed nouns are followed by the Genitive marker si. 

165) mt si Siavor 
boy Gen Siavor 
'Siavor's son' 

166) kAUvek si ngi-g 
dog Gen ?-lSg 
'my dog' 

3.1.3.2.3 Genitive of Source 

The Genitive marker i also marks a looser type of possession, that of source or belonging 
to. 

167) ri nat i laong 
Plur boy Gen far 

'The boys/young men of far away (specifically, Tigak islands).' 

168) igenen i ring ke 
man Gen place this 

'a man of this place (a local man)' 

3.1.4 Noun Phrases in Apposition 

Two NPs can occur together without any conjunction between them. I view these two NPs 
as appositional in the sense that one is not embedded in the other. This is borne out by the 



37 



Lesley Fast 

fad tliut each NP has its own intonation contour. This is in contrast to the possessive 
pronoun phrase in 3.1.3.1 above. 

The purpose of ilie second NP is to further clarify the first NP. This construction can be 
used only with persons in the context of possession and so far only proper names have 
been found in the second NP. 

Su-uclure: Apposiiional Noun Phrase = +NP +NP(name) 

169) kA-g a'ttiA Kerck 
Poss-lSg woman Kerek 
'my wife, Kerck' 

3.1.5 Noun Phrases Conjoined 

This is a list construction and functions as one element in the Clause. Three types of 
Conjoined NPs arc found: 

1. Signifying a close relationship between the NPs. A maximum of two can be conjoined. 
The connector is ve. 

170) kAU vc pAngA 
sweet.potato with greens 
'sweet [)otaioes with greens' 

171) namcmlong ve kA-g airiA 
IPlurExDl with Poss-lSg woman 
'we two with my wife (my wife and I)' 

2. A list with elements more loosely related. The connector is na and it often occurs 
between each clement of the list but sometimes only between the last two. 

172) ri vap Iava ri a/'riA na ri nat lik 
Plur people big Plur woman and Plur boy small 
'the big people, women and children' 

3. An alternative NP using vo 'or'. 

173) OA ka sukAl ur vo kiruk? 
ISgSAgr Int plant banana or taro 
'Should 1 plant banana or taro?' 

3.1.6 Question Word as Head of Phrase 

The two Question words, sa 'what' and si 'who', can function as head of the NP. These 
phrases are rcsiricied as to ihe number of elements allowed. Only the plural marker ri may 
precede the hciul. An adverb that in some way restricts the identity of what or whom the 
question word is referring to is the only element allowed to follow ihc head. 



38 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

174) ri si a-kkorong? 
Plur who Cs-slraight 
'who precisely?' 

175) sa a-liu 
what Cs-pass 

'what along (etcetera)' 

In an echo question where the speaker is repeating someone's statement because he did not 
hear one word, the NP has as head the question word and can then also have the usual 
modifiers of the noun phrase. 

176) First speaker: kA-m mang vuk ei 

Poss-2Sg Spec piece ttee 
'your piece of wood' 

177) Second speaker: kA-g mang vuk sa? 

Poss-lSg Spec piece what 
'my piece of what?' 

3.1.7 Headless Noun Phrase 

Numerals and some part-whole morphemes may stand on their own as head of the NP. 
They do however always imply a noun which is usually reu-icvable from the context. 

178) mang sikei Aa ta tainau kA-ri ur 
Spec one 3SgSAgr Past steal Poss-3Plur banana 
'Some one stole their bananas.* 

179) mang keve aioA ki po luk a mang rukun palau 
Spec Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Cont get Dcf Spec Part-Whole just 
'Some women get just a few (crabs).' 

The question word, poisAn 'how many' can also function in this way. 

180) /M ta luk a poisAJi palau 
ISgSAgr Past get Def how. many just 
'I got a few only.' 

3.2 Verb Phrase 

In the section on the verb, it was noted that four morphemes together with the verb root are 
being analysed as making up the verb word. These are: 



1) -ai, possibly a transitivity marker 

2) ang-, denoting reciprocal action 

3) a-, a causative morpheme 

4) lA; spontaneous intransitive marker 



39 



Lesley Fast 

Verb compounding was also discussed in that section as being a phenomenon of the verb. 
In this scciioa the rest of [he elements that make up the verb phrase will be discussed. 
Aliliougli reduplicaiioii is strictly a morphological process of the verb word it is discussed 
in tliis section since it marks duralivc aspect. 

Tlie VP funciions as the only obligatory element in the verbal clause. 

llie VP has as its head the verb. The verb and a subject agreement marker are the only 
obligatory elements in the phrase. 

3.2.1 Structure of the Verb Phrase 

The structure of the verb phrase can be viewed as having three parts; 1) the nucleus i.e. the 
verb root, 2) ilie pre-nucleus elements, those having to do generally with tense, aspect and 
mood, and 3) the post-nucleus elements, the adverbial modifiers and the NPO. 

The structure of the VP can be diagrammed as follows: 

VERB PHRASE 

Pre-Nuclcus Nucleus Post-Nucleus 

+SAgi±Int±Fbl±Tcnsc±Mol±Perf±ConLtHab±Neg +Verb ±Adv±Itns ±NPO 

3.2.2 Elements of the Verb Phrase 

3.2.2.1 Subject Agreement 

Tliis moq)hemu is normally obligatory in the VP. In a command, it is omitted at the 
speaker's choice. (See also section 4.3 clause modifications. For a listing of all the subject 
agreement markings see section 2.1.2.1.3 figure 6.) 

181) ki Ilos 
3PlurSAgr laugh 
'they laugh' 

182) UiA me angan 
IPIurlncSAgr Mot.toward eat 
'Let's eat.' 

3.2.2.2 Intention ka 

The intention marker ka marks the altitude of the speaker as being one of desire or 
intention to do the action. It can occur only with first person singular and never co-occurs 
with the possibility mood marker b. 

183) HA ka an antok i-a 
ISgSAgr Int Mot.away say Obj-3Sg 
'1 shall go tell him.' 



40 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 



3.2.2.3 Possibility Mood -b 



riic marker -b follows the subject agreement. It expresses the speaker's view that ilic action 
or state might be true. 1 have not been able to determine exactly what the degree of 
probability is in the mind of the speakers. It appears that this marker may only occur with 
some of the subject Agreement person markers, namely first, second and third singular and 
second and third plural. If the same possibility mood is marked with the other persons it 
must be done with a free form adverb ngAning 'perhaps'. It is possible for the marker -b 
and the free form to co-occur. 

184) ku-b la a-r-ai ani-A 
2SgSAgr-Pbl Past Cs-see-? Obj-3Sg 
'You might have seen him.' 

185) ki-b la SAng e pal-pal sake ngAiiing 
3PlurSAgr-Pbl Perf run at Redup-area that perhaps 
'They might have run (by boat) in the other area (the other route).' 

3.2.2.4 Tense ta 

Only past tense is marked. And this only if it is necessary to set the time of the action in 
the past. If from the context the past tense is implicit in the discourse, it is not marked. A 
story, for example, will begin with the first two to four clauses having this morpheme in 
the VP. Then all subsequent clauses on the event line of the story will not have this 
morpheme. Another example of the use of this morpheme is when a particular point in 
time in the past is in question. For example questions like, "On which day did he arrive?" 
or "Where were you?" must have the past tense marked. 

186) leu ta ago e vol? 
2SgSAgr Past stay at where 
'Where were you?' 

187) angisan ku ta serei? 
when 2SgSAgr Past arrive 
'When did you come?' 

The first clause in a narrative account: 

188) nem ta pAsal ane Vaungung 
IPlurEx Past go to Vaungung 
'We went to Vaungung.' 

3.2.2.5 Motion Relative to Speaker an, me 

Actions that are perceived as involving the movement of the actor from one place to 
another will have the relevant motion marking. Actions perceived as moving toward the 
deictic centre (the reference point of the speaker or the reference point of a character in a 
discourse) is marked with me and actions moving away from this deictic centre will be 
marked with an. 

41 



Lesley Fast 

189) kA me la scrci c rin\ 
3SgSAgr Mot.loward Perf arrive at village 
'He (came and) arrived at the village." 

190) tAtA an scrci si ngi-nA 
IPIurlncSAgr Moi.away arrive at ?-3Sg 

'Lets (go and) arrive at his place.' (Lets go sec him) 

191) fcu me sinimg e kke 
2SgSAgr Mot.loward sit at here 
'You come sit here.' 

192) John kA an Ung-i kAriu 
John 3SgSAgr Moi.away chop-? bamboo 
'John will go and cut bamboo.' 

The following two examples are both taken from the same story describing a day trip from 
Umbukul to another village, Vaungung. At both of these points in the story the speaker's 
point of reference is Uinbukul. 

193) near beginning of story: 

na namcm an la scrci e Vaungung 

and IPIurExSAgr Mot.away Perf arrive at Vaungung 
'And we arrived in Vaungung.' 

194) end of story: 

na namcm me la screi e Umbukul 

and IPIurExSAgr Mot.loward Perf arrive at Umbukul 
'And we arrived at Umbukul.' 

3.2.2.6 Perfective Aspect la 

Tliis morpheme is very prolific in narrative material and in conversations. It marks the 
action or state as completed in tlie view of the speaker. If tlie free morpheme lenginang 
'already' occurs, the perfective marker, la invariably occurs also. 

195) OA ta la angan lenginang 
ISgSAgr Past Perf eat already 

'I have eaten already.' 

196) ku la rot? 
2SgSAgr Perf sleep 
'Were you asleep'.'' 

197) HA la mAsung 
ISgSAgr Perf satisfied 

'I am satisfied.' (polite way of declining more food) 



42 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

198) ilcs vAuk mi la SAng 
laier morning 2PlurSAgr Perf run 

'Tomorrow you will be running by boat (you will have lefi).' 

3.2.2.7 Continuative Aspect po 

The continuative aspect marks the action or state as continuing over a period of time. 

199) ki ta po angan ang-pok-pok-ai ani-rU 
3PlurSAgr Past Cont eat Rccip-Redup-back-? Obj-3Plur 
"They were eating each other." 

200) kA po rot 
3SgSAgr Cont sleep 
'She is sleeping.' 

3.2.2.8 Habitual Aspect uli 

The habitual aspect marker uli signifies that the speaker views the action or state of the 
clause as constantly happening or being in effect. 

201) kA po uli screi a-duk 
3SgSAgr Cont Hab arrive Cs-many 
'It happens all tlie time.' 

202) fcx ta po uli a-togon iAun ro-nm ani-riA si ngolo 
3SgSAgr Past Cont Hab Cs-have time Rcdup-good Bnf-3Plur Pur fishing 
'There was always a good time for them for fishing.' 

3.2.2.9 Negation Uv 

The negation marker tAv is different than the clausal negation marker parik ... pa. It has the 
mcsming of 'fail to' and relates directly to the action of the verb. It occurs both in 
declarative and negated clauses. This negation is not as forceful as the fully negated clause. 

203) kA po tAV mcngen a-ro 
3SgSAgr Cont Ncg speak Cs-good 
'He is failing to speak well.' 

204) HA po Uv lUAUngAS 
ISgSAgr Cont Ncg clear 

'I fail to understand.* 

3.2.2.10 Adverb 

In the adverb slot various adverbs occur to modify the verb or state. These can be both 
derived and non-derived adverbs. There may be two adverbs in one VP, the first one being 
a derived one and the second one being non-derived. 



43 



Lesley Fast 

205) OA ka pAsal a-Iiu pok mc si kA-g lu 
ISgSAgr Iiu go Cs-pass back to Gen Poss-lSg house 
'I'm going along back lo my house." 

206) Us-ig kA-po a-bis a-nudot 
sibling.samc.sex-lSjjPoss 3SgSAgr-Coni Cs-work Cs-strong 
'My brother is working hard.* 

3.2.2.11 Intensificaiion 

The iniensificrs discussed in section 2.2.3.1 also occur in the VP to intensify adverbs. 

207) Us-ig kA po a-bis a-mAdot luai 
sibling.same.sex-lSgPoss 3SgSAgr Com Cs-work Cs-suong Inis 
'My brother is working very hard.' 

3.2.2.12 Duralive Aspect 

Duralive aspect is marked in the VP by reduplication. Most usually the reduplication is of 
the first consonant and vowel of the verb root. (Note that the consonant weakens to the 
short form) 

208) ri nat lik ki po U-ttAngAm 
Plur boy small 3PlurSAgr Cont Redup-sing 
'The small boys lue singing.' 

209) ri ainA ki an la U-Uun am keve pok 
Plur woman 3PlurSAgr Mot.away Perf Redup-bake Obj Plur food 
'The women (went and) cooked the food.* 

Some examples have also been found where ihe whole verb root reduplicates and the 
meaning seems to be the same as the first type of reduplication. 

210) ki po UngA-UngA dck kAriu 
3PlurSAgr Cont Rcdup-chop split bamboo 
'They are chop-spliiting bamboo." 

Another type of reduplication is used to mark the suretching out of the action. This has 
been seen only with the verbs of motion like 'go*, 'run*, and 'chase*, and the verb 'stay'. 
This last verb is used in that way to signify a passing of time before the next action. 

211) itA la pAsal pAsal pAsal pAsal pAsal 
3SgSAgr Perf go go go go go 

na kA an la serei e rinA 

and 3SgSAgr Mot.away Perf arrive at village 

'He went and went and went ... and he arrived at the village.' 



44 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

212) JkA la ago ago ago na mAfcAwp /ca la sUng 
3SgSAgr Perf stay stay stay and sun 3SgSAgr Pcrf descend 
'He waited and waited and waited and the sun set.' 

3.2.2.13 Noun Phrase Object 

It need only be mentioned here that the NPO is obligatory following transitive verbs and 
that its order of occurrence is last element in the VP. 

213) parik Ica la pa angan i-A 

not 3SgSAgr Perf Neg eat Obj-3Sg 
'He did not eat him.' 

214) namem la angan a-ssip a pok ang 
IPlurExSAgr Perf eat Cs-all Def food Dem 
'We ate all the food." (We finished eating) 

2\5) ku me longong a ri-imL-m 

2SgSAgr MoLtoward hear Def Hon-mother-2SgPoss 
'Come and listen to your mother.' 

3.2.3 Some Examples of Longer VP's 

216) ki ta me la angan 
3PlurSAgr Past Mot Perf eat 
'they came and ate' 

217) Aa po uli angan a-UvA 
3SgSAgr Cont Hab eat Cs-big 
'he always eats much' 

l\i) ki ta po UngAm a-UvA luai 

3PlurSAgr Past Cont sing Cs-big Itns 
'they were singing very loudly' 

219) fct po SAup a-rikek i-au 

3SgSAgr Cont hit Cs-bad Obj-lSg 
'It (sickness) is hitting me very hard.' 

3.3 Prepositional Phrases 

3.3.1 Location 

3.3.1.1 Directional Adverbs 

Verbs of motion are often modified with directional adverbs. These adverbs are formed by 
a causal morpheme prefixed to a small class of verbs. (See also section 2.2.2 on 
derivation.) 



45 



Lesley Fast 

Tliis section is covered here rather ttian in the section on the verb phrase simply to keep the 
topic of location in one place even though they are not prepositional phrases. 

It could also be argued that tJicse phrases are compound verbs rather than verbs plus 
adverbs. However, since there are other compound verb constructions that do not have any 
affixation in them (sec section 2.3.2). I am treating these directional phrases as verb plus 
adverb because tlicy are the same in suucture as the VPs that have adverbs which are 
derived from adjectives. Note the following pair of examples: 

220) pAsal a-ngAu 
go Cs-weak 

walk slowly" 

221) pASal a-siAng 
go Cs-descend 
'go down* 

These directional adverbs arc conslructed in the same way as the earlier mentioned derived 
adverbs. 

Directional Adverb = +Causative +Verb 

222) ki la SAitg a-lak ane Kavieng 
3PlurSAgr Perf run Cs-climb to Kavieng 
"They ran (by boat) up to Kavieng.' 

223) ncm la (IaI a-siAng i-A 
IPlurSAgr Perf drag Cs-dcscend Obj-3Sg 
'We dragged it (canoe) down (to the water).' 

Verbs that form into directional adverbs: 



a-ZaJt 


'climb' 


-> 'up' 


a-siAng 


'descend' 


-> 'down' 


a-kasang 


'come' 


-> 'on level toward speaker' 


a-liu 


'pass by' 


-> 'on level away from speaker' 


a-ulit 


'go around' 


-> 'around' 



224) ncmlong la kAlip a-na-nnap a-sixng 

1 DlEx Perf paddle Cs-Rcdup-careful Cs-dcscend 
'We (two) paddled carefully down (west).' 

Note: When the verb pAsal 'go' is modified by these adverbs, it may shorten to only the 
first phoneme p. 

225) Ata p-a-kasang ngAnlAk 
3SgSAgr go-Cs-come later 
'He will come here later on.' 



46 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

Note the full form which occurs frequently in careful speech: 

226) kA fAsal a-kasang ngAiilAk 
3SgSAgr go Cs-come later 
'He will come here later on.' 

3.3.1.2 Prepositional Phrases of Location 

There is a set of prepositions that can occur as the head of the locative prepositional phrase. 

Ic 'from' 
ane 'to' 
e 'at' 

227) e Metemaung 
at Metemaung 

'at Metemaung (village)' 

228) mi ta pAsal le voi? 
2PlurSAgr Past go from where 
'Where did you come from?' 

There is a set of location morphemes that precede the NP but follow LocPrep when they 
co-occur. A few of these are listed below. Unlike LocPrep these items can occur without a 
following nominal and can also be suffixed by person marking lo refer to a full NP, as in 
(232). They are therefore analysed as locative nominals. 

ngere 'side' 

no 'front' 

mung 'back' 

nci 'inside' 

229) to ^A po tavap le ngere b^ng 
wave 3SgSAgr Cont bounce from side rock 
'The wave bounces back from the rock.' 

230) ki la p-a-Iak ane nei lu 
3PlurSAgr Perf go-Cs-climb to in house 
'They went up into the house.' 

231) A^ po niAtung e mung-i-m 
3SgSAgr Cont lie at back-Gen-2Sg 
'It is lying at back of you (behind you).' 

3.3.2 Instrument 

To express instrument the preposition ta is used. 



47 



Lesley Fast 

232) Sition U-la UngA i-A. ta ngAnig 
Sition 3SgSAgr-Pasl chop Obj-3Sg Instr axe 
'Sition chopped it with an axe.' 

3.3.3 Benefaction, Malefaction and Recipient 

Benefaction, malefaction and recipient arc expressed using the particle ani. 

233) benefaction: 

HA-ka UngA ani-m 

ISgSAgr-lnt chop Bnf-2Sg 
'I'll chop (wood) for you.' 

234) malefaction: 

kA-la tangat ani- a 

3SgSAgr-Pcrf dawn Mlf-3Sg 

'Dawn broke on him.' (cutting short his night's work) 

235) recipient: 

ki-a a-llis ten Miiri vap 

3PlurSAgr-Pasi Cs-give fish Bnf-Plur people 
'They gave fish to the people.' 

3.3.4 Accompaniment 

Accompaniment is expressed witli the use of a prepositional phrase. The preposition that 
signals accompaniment is ve. 

236) numai ve si e iang? 
2SgSAgr with who at there 
'Who is there with you?' 

237) nA-ka a-u-ai ve namilong 
ISgSAgr-Int Cs-bc.wiih? with 2DlSPm 
'1 want to go with you (two).' 

Tlie adverb kuvul 'together' is used in an accompaniment consUTiclion when the action is 
done together by both the participants of the clause. 

238) nemlong la pAsal kuvul ve mang igenen 
1 DIExS Agr Perf go together with another man 
'We (two) went together with another man.' 

Tlie Accompaniment consu-uction does not nccesarily imply addition. That is to say, the 
participants of two NPs that arc conjoined do not nccesarily total the sum of the 
individuals in both hJPs. Whereas in the last three examples addition of the two phrases 
was the case, there are also cases like the following example which refer to two, not three, 
people. In the mind of the speaker this form [>erhaps signifies a greater intimacy between 
the participants. 

48 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

239) namemlong ve papa 
IDlExSPm with dad 
"Dad and r 

When the suffix -ai is attached to the preposition, ve, the resultant meaning seems to be 
that of an inner emotion or quality that is with a person, ani obligatorily follows this 
suffix. 

240) kA la U-pASuk ve-ai ani iiiataIa 
3SgSAgr Perf Proc-arise with-? Obj anger 
'He got up with anger.' 

3.3.5 Time 

3.3.5.1 Days 

Days of the week are borrowed terms. They function in the time word position of a time 
phrase. The genitive particle si, marks the time phrase as definite. Since days of the week 
are definite, the particle is obligatory in this context 

241) UTA-po uli lotu si Sande 
IPlurlncSAgr-Cont Hab worship Gen Sunday 
'We always worship on Sundays. 

242) ki-ta-po ago e Kavieng lung si Pode 
3PlurSAgr-Past-Cont be at Kavieng until Gen Thurday 
'They stayed in Kavieng until Thursday.' 

Days of the week also function as nouns; in the following example as subject of the clause. 

243) Mande sake kA Uun rikek ani-rA 
Monday that 3SgSAgr day bad Mlf-lPlurlnc 
'Next Monday will be a bad day for us. ' 

'Yesterday', 'today' and 'tomorrow' are lexical items with some of them constructed by 
some compounding. 

244) ki ta screi anongo 
3PlurSAgr Pas arrive yesterday 
'They arrived yesterday. 

245) anongo-i-HA (person suffix) 
yestcrday-Gen-3Sg 

' the day before yesterday ' 

246) kA-ta serei anginang VAuk 
3SgSAgr-Past arrive today morning 
'He arrived this morning.' 



49 



Lesley Fast 

247) iles-VAuk kA scrci 
lalcr-morning 3SgSAgr arrive 
'He will arrive lomorrow." 

The iwo lime words anongo 'yesierday' and iles-VAuk 'tomorrow' are both used in the 
strict sense and also in the general sense to mean the past and the future. 

248) iles-VAuk k^-rA inatus ki saka to an? 
later-morning Poss-lPlurlnc children 3PlurSAgr how live ? 
'How will our children live in the future?' 

3.3.5.2 Referential 
These morphemes are of two types: 

1) Those referring to absolute time. 

anangan 'in time past' 

kAHA 'at present time' 

ngAiiUk 'in future time of same day' 

lies 'in future linie after today' 

249) Jtaha palau ki la po scrci 
now just 3PlurSAgr Perf Cont arrive 
'Just now they have arrived.' 

250) kA a-togon a kivung ngAiilAk 
3SgSAgr Cs-have Def meeting latcr.today 
'There will be a meeting later today.' 

2) Relative la a specific point in time. These are constructions using a locative phrase. The 
locative time preposition ai is used interchangeably with the spatial preposition e. It is 
possible that the original meaning distinction was clear but that this distinction is not 
preserved in speech anymore. 

251) e mung i kA-ri itiAtAn angan 
at back Gen Poss-3Plur part/whole eat 
'after their feast' 

252) ai no i langat 
at front Gen dawn 
'before dawn' 

3.3.5.3 Time of Day 

The morpheme tend 'lime of day' prefixes the various times that the day is divided into to 
specify time of day. It functions as a definite preposition, fixing the time. This is the same 
function as the genitive si in the time phrases discussed in 3.3.4.1 above. 



50 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

253) ki ta mikA mikA tun^ tend tangat 
3PlurSAgr Past Redup dance until Prep dawn 
'They danced until dawn.' 

254) ki ta serei tend sa 
BPlurSAgr Past arrive Prep what 
'What time of day did they arrive?' 

The limes of day may be joined to be more specific: 

255) TiA ta p-a-lak tend ngelik vong 
ISgSAgr Past go-Cs-climb Prep afternoon dark 
'I went up at dusk.' 

The morphemes for times of day are used prolifically as Adverbs of time. 

256) ^A ta usen VAuk 
SSgSAgr Past rain morning 
'It rained in the morning.' 

257) HA ta maiak vong 
ISjgSAgr Past fish dark 
'I fished at night.' 

258) ki a-bis ngelik /-a 
SPlurSAgr Cs-build afternoon Obj-3Sg 
'They will build it in the afternoon." 

4 Clause 

The clause functions as an element in the sentence. It is the only obligatory element in the 
sentence. 

There are verbal and non-verbal clauses. Verbal clauses have a VP as head of the clause. 
Non-verbal clauses do not have a verb. 

4.1 Non-verbal Clause 

4.1.1 Equative Clause 

The equative clause has as a free pronoun as subject Tlie NP comment must have the 
definite noun marker a. Its basic structure is: 

Clause = +Subject Pronoun +NP 

259) nau a Kambi 
ISgSPm Def Kambi 
'I am Kambi.' 



51 



Lesley Fast 

260) nuinai a igeiien 
2SgSPrn Def man 
'You are a man." 

261) niniA na si? 
3SgSPrn Dcf who 
'Who is he?' 

262) nuinai a tulcul-ai i keve bil a-ongos 
2SgSPrn Def base-? Gen Plur ihing Cs-all 

' You (God) are the reason of all things. ' 

When itic equative clause is negated il has the following structure: 

Clause = ±Subject Pronoun +parik +ta +NP 

Tlic function of the particle la is not clear at this point. It may be functioning like the 
definite noun marker a since it seems to be replacing it in this construction. It also seems 
to be liiking ilie place of the negating particle pa in tlie negated verbal clause, (see 4.3.1 
l)c\ow) U will here be glos.scd with '?'. 

Ill this firsl example the identity of the man is retrievable from the discourse and hence in 
this utterance the first NP is omitted. 

263) parik la igencn Ic kkc 
not ? man from here 
'(He) is not a man from here.' 

In the next example the first NP is filled by a demonsuative. 

264) kAnA parik la mAni 
Dem not ? bird 
'This is not a bird.' 

265) Nuvat parik la nat si ngi-g 
Nuvat not ? boy Gen ?-lSg 
'Nuvat is not my son.' 

4.1.2 Possessive Clause 

The possessive clause is characterized by the particle la coming between the two phrases. 
The basic structure of the clause is: 

Clause = +Possesive NP +la +NP 

266) kA-g kAVulik la Ngurle 
Poss-lSg girl ? Ngurle 
'Ngurle is my daughter.' 



52 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

267) lipas-ig ta Togan 
sislcr's.child-lSgPoss ? Togan 
'Togan is my nephew (sister's child).' 

268) ke Anasi ta naip 
Poss Anasi ? knife 
'It is Anasi's knife.' 

269) ke si ta vul tanginang ke 
Poss who ? canoe new Dem 
'Whose new canoe is this?' 

4.1.3 Stative Clause 

4.1.3.1 Existential Clause 

The existential clause is char?icterized by the obligatory marking of subject agreement and 
optionally also tense and aspect. Its structure is diagrammed below: 

Clause = ±NP +SAgr ±Tensc/Asix;ct +NP 

270) nau nx. po tA.mA.-riA. 
ISgSPm ISgSAgr Com fathcr-3PlurPoss 
'I am their father.' 

271) tainau kA po lau rikek 
steal 3SgSAgr Cont custom bad 
'Stealing is a bad custom.' 

4.1.3.2 Descriptive Clause 

The function of this clause is to describe a thing or a state.The description is expressed in 
the form of a complement predicate. The subject may be a full NP or it may be marked 
only by subject agreement person marking depending on wlieilier the context requires it. 
This clause may also be an impersonal type of clause where the predicate complement 
makes an impersonal comment on the general situation as in the English sentence 'It is 
cold.' 

The suucture of this clause: 

Clause = ±NP(Topic) +SAgr +Tense/Asp +Prcdicate Complement 

272) ri kwulik ki po mara-marak 
Plur girl 3PlurSAgr Cont Redup-happy 
'The girls are happy." 

273) NP topic implicit 

HA po ma-mmal a-rikek 

ISgSAgr Cont Redup-tired Cs-bad 
'I am very tired.' 

53 



Lesley Fast 

274) impersonal cicscripiive clause: 
Aa /a ngclik 
3SgSAgr Pcrf aricriiooii 

'II isaricmoon.' 

4.1.4 Comparison Clause 

In a comparison clause ilie comparison is expressed by a descripiive clause and a 
comparison NP prefixed by iuii. 

Siruciurc; Comparison Clause = +Descripuvc Clause +ani +NP 

275) Kavicng Aa po vungA-vungA am Tingwon 
Kavieng 3SgSAgr Com Redup-far Comp Tingwon 
'Kavieng is farllier away than Tingwon.' 

276) vongo kci Jca [>o ro aid vongo i niu. 
pig wild 3SgSAgr Com good Comp pig Gen village 
'Wild pig is bcucr (to eat) than domestic pig." 

In a superlative comparison the comparison NP specifics every possiblility of comparison 
by the use of an intensifier. 

277) A A TiA lu Aa po laviri an; ri lu a-ongos 
Poss 3Sg house 3SgSAgr Com large Comp Plur house Cs-all 
'His house is big compared to all the houses.' Oiiggcsi of all the houses) 

In order to cover compari.son in one place 1 will here also describe comparison where the 
degree of the (|uality is the same. The above type of structure using ani expresses a 
difference between the two things compared. When something is like something else two 
otlier connectives may be used, iisuk^ng 'like' and val 'the same as'. The word asukAOg 
takes a complement after it and this can be a phrase, clause or sentence, whereas val is like 
a preposition taking after it a NP. Some examples; 

278) kA po ar-a-r-ai asukAtig ta parik ki pa nnAS 
3SgSAgr Cont Redup-Cs-see-? like ? not 3PlurSAgr Neg know 
'It looks (seems) like they don't know.' 

279) Aa po hil val Unu-nA 
3SgSAgr Cont thing the.same.as father-3SgPoss 

'He is a thing the same as his father.' (He resembles his father.) 

4.1.5 Relative Clause 

The relative clause functions as a modifier of a noun. There arc two types of relative clause. 
One is a full clause and the other has a reduced VP as well as some other features which 
will be discussed below. 



54 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 



4.1.5.1 Full Form Relative Clause 



In ihis type of relative clause the intonation contour covers the NP together with the 
relative clause thus joining them into one unit which functions as a NP. (Note that this 
intonation contour is the contrastive feature between this type of relative clause and the left 
dislocated NPO discussed in 4.3.6.1 below.) 

From preliminary investigation it seems that subject, direct and indirect object, insU^ument 
and location at least can be relativised. 

280) ring ang vap suke id po ang-tung si ngi-OA 
place Dem people Dem 3PlurSAgr Cont Rccip-stand Gen ?-3Sg 
'the place those people are standing at it' 

free: 'the place where those people are standing' 

281) icn ang ki ta a-llis i-mem 

fish Dem SPlurSAgr Past Cs-give Obj-lPlurEx 

ta ttA-ttA kA ta po vok 

Insu- ?-3Sg 3SgSAgr Past Cont rotten 

"The fish that they gave us was rotten.' 

4.1.5.2 Reduced Form Relative Clause 

A relative clause of this type does not have subject agreement marking. If there is an overt 
subject NP it is clause final and it is expressed in an oblique phrase following the particle 
lu. If the noun has the demonstrative ang this will occur after the VP of the relative clause 
and before the oblique subject. The genitive particle si/i sometimes links the noun to the 
modifying relative clause. It is not clear yet what the real function of this particle is. 

282) kAUvek i la SAup ang ta Nuvat kA la ssip 
dog Gen Perf hit Dem InsU- Nuvat 3SgSAgr Perf flee 
'The dog that Nuvat hit has fled.' 

Some more examples: 

283) vap la angan a-UvA 
people Perf eat Cs-big 
'people who eat a lot' 

284) vap po tauk i mat-mat ang 
people Cont owner Gen Redup-die Dem 
'people who own the corpse' 

285) HA ta a-r-ai ani-m si po pAsal a-Iak 
ISgSAgr Past Cs-sec-? Obj-2Sg Gen Cont go Cs-climb 
'I saw you going up.' 



55 



Lesley Fast 

4.2 Verbal Clause 

The verbal clause is made up of a nucleus (the VP) and peripheral elements (other phrases). 
As was discussed in section 3.2 the VP includes the NPO in transitive clauses. The VP is 
the only obligatory element in the verbal clause. 

In general all the periplicral elements occur after the nucleus. When they are fronted, and 
this includes the NPO, it is for reasons of focus (see 4.3). The lime phrase is viewed as a 
peripheral element in the sentence rather than in the clause. 

The structure of the Verbal Clause: 

Clause = +NPS +VP tPost-nuclear phrases 

The following phrase ty|x:s can fill the post-nuclear phrase slot: location, instrument, 
accompaniment, bencfactivc, nialcfactive and recipient. 

The number of post-nuclear phrases in a single clause very rarely excedes one phrase. The 
only multiple occuicnce found so far is where two locative phrases occur where both are 
referring to the sane location and the second one is an elaboration of the first one. 

286) namem la milcA-niikA /-a e kke e Umbukul 

1 PlurExSAgr Perf Redup-dance Obj-3Sg at here at Umbukul 
'We danced it (a dance) here at Umbukul.' 

Although it is tempting to force a greater number of phrases into the post-nuclear slot, I 
will for now assume that it is unnatural since I do not fmd it supported with data. With 
more text material 1 suspect it will be possible to make a more satisfactory analysis. 

For examples of these phrases in the clause see the examples in section 3.3 above. 

llie verbal clauses can be classified into several types on the basis of their structure; 
clauses taking a complement, transitive clauses, intransitive clauses, and di-transitive 
clauses. These will be described below. 

4.2.1 Clauses Taking a Complement 

1'hese clauses are characterized by the class of verbs that occiu' in them and by the speech 
introducer ta which introduces the complement. Transitive and intransitive clauses can take 
complements after them. 

Basic stfucture: 

Clause = +Clause +ta +CompIement 

Indirect and direct speech is not distinguished by a difference in marking. The actual 
content of the speech will make it clear which one it is. 



56 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 



4.2.1.1 Direct Speech 



287) Mar kA la antok la nau ba an luk kkut 
Mar 3SgSAgr Perf say Sintr ISgSPm ISgSAgr MoLaway get firewood 

fc na mi ko-kko-ai e kke 

first and 2PlurSAgr Redup-wait-? at here 
'Mar said, "I will get firewood first, and you wait here.'" 

Direct speech, although it will most often have the particle ta, sometimes does not have it. 
This is in cases where the action of speech is within a very fast sequence of actions. 

288) U-pASvk kA la antok (...) vong vong vong 
PriK-gct.up 3SgSAgr Pcrf say dark dark dark 
'(He) got up and said, "Dark, dark, dark.'" 

4.2.1.2 Indirect Speech 

289) OA la sokottuk j'-a ta kA me screi si ngi-fA 
ISgSAgr Perf plead Obj-3Sg Sintr SSgSAgr come arrive at ?-lPIurInc 
'I begged him to come to us.' 

4.2.1.3 Other Verbs taking a Complement 

Although in this type of clause the complement is not actual speech, it is related in that it 
is thought or sensory perception. The term 'speech introducer' will therefore still be used 
to gloss la. 

290) kA po a-ra-r-ai asuk^ng ta parik kA pa 
3SgSAgr Cont Cs-Redup-sce-? like Sintr not 3SgSAgr Neg 

longong i-au 
hear Obj-lSg 

'It looks as if he doesn't hear me.' 

291) HA po nriAS ta ri /iriA-nA ki po malcpen 
ISgSAgr Cont know Sintr Hon mother-3SgPoss 3PlurSAgr Cont sick 

'I know that his mother is sick.' 

292) ku po mAlAngAS ta ku ta bil a-rikck 
2SgSAgr Cont clear Sintr 2SgSAgr Past do Cs-bad 
'Do you realize (are you clear) that you did wrong?' 

4.2.2 Transitive Clause 

The characteristic of this clause is that it has an obligatory object in the VP. The verb of 
this clause may be either a non-derived transitive verb or a U^ansitive verb derived by a 
causative prefix. 

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Lesley Fast 

293) kA la fAung a vongo 
3SgSAgr Perf kill Dcf pig 
'He killed the pig." 

294) ki /a UngA suai am ei 
3PlurSAgr Pcrf chop remove Obj tree 
'They chop|xxl away Ihe tree.' 

295) HA til a-tung a lu ke 
ISgSAgr Past Cs-sland Def house Dem 
'I erected this house.' 

4.2.3 Intransitive Clause 

The verb in the intransitive clause cannot lake an object. There is no difference in the 
structure of clauses with derived or non-derived verbs. 

296) namcm la scrci e Vaungung 
IPIurExSAgr Pcrf arrive at Vaungung 
'We arrived at Vaungung.* 

297) kA-HA lu kA po lung ngere !o 
Poss-3Sg house 3SgSAgr Cont stand beside shore 
'His house stands beside ilie shore.' 

298) angus ang kA la u-ttok e pangkul 
vine Dem 3SgSAgr Perf Proc-tcar at top 
'The vine tore at tlie top.' 

4.2.4 Di-transitive Clause 

The di-transitive clause has an obligatory direct object and an indirect object which could 
Ix; called a benefaciivc phrase (BnfP). There are two types of structure that occur 

4.2.4. 1 Direct Object Precedes the Indirect Object 
Di-iransiiive Clause = -t-VP +BnlP 

299) a-llis a icn ke ant ri niiA-m 
Cs-give Dcf fish Dem Bnf 3Plur(Hon) mother-2SgPoss 
'Give this fish to your mother.' 

4.2.4.2 Indirect Object Precedes the Direct Object 
Di-transitive Clause = +VP(includcs beneficiary) +te +IO 

300) a-llis a ri nnA-m ta ien ke 
Cs-give Def Hon mother-2SgPoss Instr fish Dem 
'Give your mother this fish.' 



58 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

Structurally this clause is identical to the uansitive clause expressing instrument. Therefore 
it seems to me that the distinguishing feature is the semantic class of the verb. So the 
following example is not di-transitive but nongrammatical. 

301) *Sition Jca ta Ung-ai a ri nnA-nx ta kkut 

Silion 3SgSAgr Past chop-? Def Hon mother- ISgPoss Inslr firewood 
'Sition chopped his mother with firewood.' 

4.3 Clause Modifications 

In this section I am not describing other types of clauses. These modifications apply to 
clauses in general. 

4.3.1 Negation 

Structure of Negation = +parik +Pers/rense/Asp +pa -i-Verb/Adj 

302) parik kA-pa ro 
not 3SgSAgr-Neg good 
'It is not good.' 

303) parik ki-pa SAWui /aJc i-au 
not 3PlurSAgr-Ncg pay yet Obj-lSg 
'They have not paid me yet.' 

4.3.2 Imperative 

The imperative clause has a simplified VP. Very commonly the imperative will consist 
only of the verb. 

304) tung! 
stand 
'Get up!' 

Person, the perfective aspect and motion may optionally be in the imperative clause. Other 
than those restrictions the clause is just like a regular clause 

305) mi an ngAut nci kakao 
2PlurSAgr Mot.away cut.grass in cocoa 
'You (plural) go cut grass in the cocoa (plantation).' 

306) /a a-si-singi 

Perf Cs-Redup-wash 
'Wash yourself!' 

307) ku mc angan 
2SgSAgr Mot.loward eat 
'You come eat.' 



59 



Lesley Fast 

4.3.3 Prolubilion (Negative Imperative) 

Prohibition Clause Structure = +ago +ta +Verb +an 

The particle tu is signalling- that a complement is following the verb ago 'stay'. The verb is 
stripped of affixes as in ilie positive imperative clause. Person only may be marked. The 
particle aii which seems to be obligatory in this structure is a problem in that I have not 
iwcn able to define its function. It may be functioning like the suffix an of the derived 
adjective discussed in 2.2.1.2.2 above, but this is still unclear at present. 

308) ku ago ta mcngen an 
2SgSAgr stay ? talk ? 
'(You) don't talk!' 

1 liis construction may be abbreviated to only ago when the rest of the context is obvious. 

309) ago! 
stay 
'Don't!' 

Tliis construction is used not only for prohibitive commands. Another use it has is the 
expression of purpose: '...so that it may not...' 

310) kA ta tung bAt i-riA asi kA-ri ago ta pAsal an 
3SgSAgr Past stand block Obj-3Plur Pur Poss-3PIur stay ? go ? 
'He stood in their path so they would not go.' 

4.3.4 anguA ... an 'again' 

Su-ucture = +anguAn +Verb/Adj/NP-comment +an 

311) A:a la anguAa voko a-na-nnap an 
3SgSAgr Pcrf again float Cs-Retlup-carefuUy '? 
'He floated (to the surface) carefully again.' 

312) UrA angiun lUngAm an 
IPlurlncSAgr again sing ? 
'Let us sing again.' 

As an imperative, this consu-uction may be shortened to angUAn an when the rest of the 
clause meaning is implicit. 

313) anguAn an! 



agam 



7 



'(Do it) again!' 
Other examples: 



60 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

314) parik kA la pa angiun mAni an 
not 3SgSAgr Perf Neg again bird ? 

'It was not a bird anymore.' (it had changed to a devil) 

315) parik Ata pa angiun ro an 

not 3SgSAgr Neg again good ? 
'It is not good anymore.' 

4.3.5 Questions 

There are two types of questions; polar and content. 

4.3.5.1 Polar Questions 

Polar questions expect a yes or no answer. These are not syntactically different from the 
normal declarative clause but the rising intonation clause finally marks the clause as a polar 
question. 

316) fa' ta ago e Metetui? 
3SgSAgr Past stay at Metetui 
'They were at Metetui?' 

Contrast the above example with a simple stative clause below: 

317) fa la ago e Meletui 
3PlurSAgr Past stay at Metetui 
'They were at Metetui.' 

When the speaker is not really looking for the yes-no information but rather wants an 
affirmation of his opinion, the tag, ingko is used clause finally. 

318) ki Is ago e Metetui Ingko 
3PlurSAgr Past stay at Metetui Tag 
'They were at Metetui, (isn't that right)? 

4.3.5.2 Content Questions 

Content questions ask for content information and are characterized by the use of a 
question word and a clause final intonation drop. 

4.3.5.2.1 'Who', 'What'. 'When' and 'Where' Questions 

These four types of questions are similar in that they make use of a question word in the 
slot of the element that is being questioned. The genitive marker si, functioning as the 
question word 'who' and sa 'what' may fill the subject and object slots and the head of the 
instrument, bcnefaclive and accompaniment phrases. The question word vol 'where' may 
only fill the head of the locative phrase and angisan 'when' replaces the time word in the 
time phrase. 

Filling the object slot: 

61 



Lesley Fast 

319) mi po angm sa? 
2PlurSAt'r Cont cat what 
' You are eating what? ' 

Filling the subject slot: 

320) si kA ta a-llis ua ta nem Jte' 
who 3SgSAgr Past Cs-give Obj2Sg Instr thing this 

Who gave you this thing?' 

I'"iiling ihc accompaniment slot: 

321) nuinai ve si kti ta scrci? 
2SgSPrn wiUi who 2SgSAgr Past come 
'With whom did you come? 

Filling the bcnefaciive slot: 

322) HA ka a-IIis i-Aani si? 
ISgSAgr Int Cs-give Obj-3Sg-Bnf who 
To whom should I give it?' 

Filling the time slot: 

323) angisan ki screi? 
when 3PlurSAgr arrive 
'When will they arrive?' 

Filling ihc locative slot: 

324) ngAnUk itgAning kit p^sal e voi"^ 
later maybe 2SgSAgr go at where 

Uler ixjrhaps you will be walking where?" 

rord''!Jf'wT,.'-'^in''"',"'" "If" ^ expressed with the genitive parUcle « and the quesUon 
word ia what ma time phrase construction. (See 3.3.4.1) 

325) si sa uun ki ta pAsal ane Kavieng? 
Gen what day 3PlurSAgr Past go to Kavieng 

On what day did they go to Kavieng?' 

4.3.5.2.2 'How' and 'Which' Question 

Those two quesUons are expressed in a similar form. If a verb is in question it means 
how and if a noun is in cjuesuon it means 'which'. 

'Which' = -vsaka +Noun +an 



62 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

326) kj kokos kuli saka vul an 
3PlurSAgr Redup-board on which canoe ? 
'Which canoe will they board?' 

'How' = +saka +Verb +an 

327) kA ta saka ito-kon an ani-A 
3SgSAgr Past how Redup-prepare ? Obj-3Sg 
'How did he prepare il? 

4.3.5.2.3 'Why' Question 

There is no single morpheme meaning 'why'. This question must be expressed in a phrase 
using one of several logical connectives and sa 'what'. Each of these connectives describe a 
different type of 'why'. 

1) A relatively strong form of the question asks for the reason of an action and connotes an 
accusation. This question uses the connective using 'because'. 

328) using a sa ku la angan i-a? 
because Def what 2SgSAgr Past cat Obj-3Sg 
'Why did you eat it?' 

The preposition marai 'why' is the same type of question as above but it seems to question 
source rather than reason and as such is usually milder in its tone. The following two 
examples illustrate this. 

329) kA po Ungis marai sa? 
3SgSAgr Cont cry becausc.of what 
'What is he crying about?' 

330) kA po Ungis marai kA-nt. suIa 

3SgSAgr Cont cry becausc.of Poss-3Sg spear 
'He is crying because of his spear.* (it broke) 

2) The question 'for what purpose?" is formed using a purpose marker and sa. 

331) ki la a-bis a lu ang aid sa 
3PlurSAgr Past Cs-work Def house Dem Pur what 
'For what purpose did they build the house?' 

4.3.5.2.4 'How many' Questions 
The 'how many' question is expressed by paIsah. 

332) poisAn a laun kul-ta-ago e kke 
how.many ? day 2SgSAgr-Past-be at here 
'How many days were you here?' 



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Lesley Fast 

4.3.6 Noun Phrase Dislocation 

4.3.6.1 Framing of NPO 

The NPO can occur clause initially lo mark it as the topic of the clause. When this happens 
a trace of it is left in its usual slot. It has tlic same word order as a relative clause but can 
be distinguished by the intonation break after the NPO, whereas if it is a relative clause 
there will be no break at that point. It appears at this point that NPO is the only NP that 
can be topicalised but further data may prove this wrong. 

333) igcncn ang, tu ta a-r-ai uni-A 
man Dem ISgSAgr Past Cs-sce-? Obj-3Sg 
'The man, I saw him. 

4.3.6.2 Right Dislocated Subject 

This movement is only allowed in lower transitive clauses. The pragmatic reason for this 
movement is not clear at this point. It may signal an aflcnhought. 

When the subject is right dislocated it is marked by the definite marker a. 

334) kA la tA-puluk a stUa ang 
3SgSAgr Pcrf Proc-break Dcf spear Dem 
'The sjHjar broke.' 

335) kA la pakang-ai aiii-A na vuk lanun ang 
3SgSAgr Perf help-? Obj-3Sg Def piece water Dem 
'The pond saved him.' or 'It saved him, the pond.' 

5 Sentence 

The sentence is defined as tliat suetch of speech within a discourse that is bounded by 
sentence intonation. Sentence intonation consists basically of falling intonation and a 
breath pause. 

Ilie clause is the only obligatory clement in the sentence. It is the nucleus of the sentence. 
Peripheral elements occur sentence initially and finally. See section 5.4 below. 

There are two broad types of sentences; coordinate and subordinate. 

5.1 Coordinate Sentence 

5.1.1 Tcm|)oral Sequence 

The first clause of the sentence has fuller affixation than tlie following ones. This seems to 
apply only to the tense affix la. If it (x;curs in the first clause it is obligatorily omitted in 
the succeeding ones. (Note that clause breaks will be marked with the symbol '//") 



64 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

336) kA ta angan II na II kA {...} suncp 
3SgSAgr Past eat and 3SgSAgr (...) wash.hands 
'He ate and then he washed his hands.' 

It seems tliat this reducing of the clause marks the two clauses as having the same subject. 
Generally, if the second clause is a full clause parallel in form to the first one, the subject 
agreement marking will refer to the last mentioned participant. As such it appears to be 
syntactic crgativity. 

337) kA ta so na ten II na II kA la pputuk JU-ha suIa 
3SgSAgr Past spear Def fish and 3SgSAgr Perf break Poss-3Sg spear 
'He speared the fish and it (the fish) broke his spear.' 

Il is jx)ssib/c to overtly specify that the second clause is later in lime than the first. This is 
done with the time locatives ai-no 'before' and ai-mung 'after'. These locatives do not 
obligatorily cooccur. 

338) HA ka pAsal ai-no II na II ku ai-mung 
ISgSAgr Int go Loc.front and 2SgSAgr Loc-bchind 
'I will go first and you (come) later.' 

As seen in the above examples, temporal succession may be marked with the coordinating 
conjunction na. This conjunction is omitted when the clauses are seen as making up a unit 
of events that are closely lied. This occurs, for example at ihc conclusion of a story. 

339) ncm la (IaI a-sUng j-a // ncm ko-kos II 
IPIurExSAgr Perf drag Cs-descend abj-3Sg IPlurExSAgr Redup-board 

ncm SAng 

IPIurExSAgr run 

'We dragged it (the canoe) down, we boarded, we ran. 

5.1.2 Temporal Simultaneity 

When different activities are going on over a period of time this can be expressed in a list 
of clauses the last two being connected with na. 

340) ki po n^al II ki po UngA mis II 
3PIurSAgr Cent dig BPlurSAgr Cont chop root 

na II ki po lovon 

and 3PlurSAgr Cont gather.debris 

'They are digging, they are chopping roots, and they are gathering debris.' 

Another way of expressing simultaneity is with the use of a serial verb construction. A 
serial verb construction is one where there arc more than one verb in the VP and each one 
denotes a single different action. (These differ from the verb compounds discussed in 2.3.2 
which are viewed as single actions.) 

65 



Lesley Fast 

341) ki po sinong angan 
3PlurSAgr Com sit eat 
"I"hey arc silling eaiing.' 

5.1.3 Coniraslive Sentence 

The coordinating conjunction sikci 'but' obligatorily connects the two clauses of this 
sentence. The clause expressing the event contrary to expectation must occur second in 
order. 

342) ki la a-ssok tap-ai ani-A II sikei parik Ica pa serci 
3PIurSAgr Past Cs-send.for now-? Obj-3Sg but not 3SgSAgr Neg arrive 
'They sent for him but he is not coming.' 

5.1.4 Adversative Sentence 

The conJunctJon kAnunem 'even though' is attached to the beginning of the clause that is 
stating tlie hindrance to the oilier clause. 

343) namcm-ta a-bis II luntAnem kA ta po lAngit 
IPIurExSAgr-Past Cs-work even.though 3SgSAgr Past Cont rain 
'We worked even iliough it was raining.' 

This clause may be first or second in the sentence. If it is first, the second clause 
optionally has the conjimction sikei 'but'. 

344) kAnUnem /ca ta po malcpen II sikei kA ta po 
even.though 3SgSAgr Past Cont sick but 3SgSAgr Past Cont 

ggulang a-ro 
play Cs-good 

'Even though he was sick, he still played well.* 

5.2 Subordinate Sentence 

5.2.1 Reason-Result Sentence 

5.2.1.1 Alternative Sentence 

A special conjunction vci 'or else' marks the second clause as the alternative event to that 
of the first clause. 

345) HA po a-ulcs i-a // vei kA dokot 
ISgSAgr Cont Cs-turn ObJ-3Sg or.else 3SgSAgr stick 
'I am stirring it (coconut oil) or else it will stick (to the pot.)* 

346) ku an aniok i-a // vei kA wataIa palau 
2SgSAgr Mot.away tell Obj-3Sg or.else 3SgSAgr angry for.no.reason 
'You go tell him lest he be angry for no reason.* 

66 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 



5.2.1.2 Ceriain Result 



This sentence type is characterized by the conjunction using 'because'. Either reason or 
result may occur first in the clause order. 

Sentence = +Rcsult Clause +using +Reason Clause 

or 
Sentence = +using +Rcason Clause +Result Clause 

This is illustrated in the next two examples. 

347) Result: Vonau kA po itiataU II 

Vonau 3SgSAgr Cont angry 

Reason: using Elemen kx ta a-mmun kA-nA ngAnig 

because Elemen 3SgSAgr Past Cs-hide Poss-3Sg axe 
'Vonau is angry because Elemen lost his axe.* 

348) Reason: using kA ta angan a ien hia/a/c // 

because 3SgSAgr Past eat Def fish raw 

Result: kA po maJepcn 

3SgSAgr Cont sick 

'Because he ate the raw fish, he is sick." 

5.2.2 Purpose Sentence 

There are four subordinating conjunctions. Three of them, si, asi, and ta, function in a 
similar way (1 see the phonological similarity of the first two) but 1 have not yet 
pinpointed the difference in function, if there is one. Another one, ani has slightly different 
features. On the basis of that difference I have set up two tyf)cs of purpose sentence. 

5.2.2.1 Reduced Subordinate Clause si, asi, la 

In this type of purpose sentence the main clause must occur first. The subordinate clause 
docs not have the usual main clause person marking in the VP. 

349) kA la pAsal anc nci utcn II asi an sili 
3SgSAgr Perf go to in forest Pur Mot.away hunt 
'He went into the forest in order to hunt.' 

350) ki ta scrci a-kuvul II si me ttAngAm 
3PlurSAgr Past arrive Cs-togcihcr Pur Mot.toward sing 
'They came together to sing.' 

In order to make person explicit a possessive pronoun modifies the whole clause. 



67 



Lesley Fast 

351) HA po ggot i-A II asi kA-UA lung a-kkit 
ISgSAgr Com lie Obj-3Sg Pur Poss-3Sg stand Cs-slrong 
'1 um lying il so ihal il siand firmly.' 

II' the subordinaic clause has an object il must be prefixed by the indefinite object marker 
ani. This difference can be seen in the following two examples; the first is a simple 
sentence wiih only a main clause and the second is a purpose sentence with an indefinite 
object marking in the subordinate clause. 

352) Nuvat kA ta songo a lAmA-nx 
Nuvai 3SgSAgr Past call Def father-3SgPoss 
'Nuvat called his fatlier.' 

353) HA ta a-ssok a Nuvat II si an songo ani Unu-nA 
ISgSAgr Past Cs-send Def Nuvat Pur Mot.away call Obj father-SSgPoss 
'I sent Nuvat lo call his father.' 

5.2.2.2 Full Sut)ordinate Clause ani 

In this type of purpose sentence Ihe subordinate clause must also occur second. The 
siruciure of the subordinate clause is like the main clause with a full VP. 

354) kA la a-ssok i-memlong II ani namemlong an 
3SgSAgr Pcrf Cs-send Obj-lDlEx Pur IDlExSAgr Mot.away 

songo na igcnen ang 
call Def man Ocm 

'He sent us (two) in order that we (two) go call the man.' 

5.2.3 Conditional Sentence 

Tlie structure of this scnicnce can be seen in the formula below: 

Sentence = +niAn-Clause +Main Clause 

or 
Sentence = +Main Clause +/nAn-Clause 

355) iHAn ku ta serei II ha /a a-llis lu. 

if 2SgSAgr Past arrive ISgSAgr Perf Cs-give Obj2Sg 

ta kA-g suIa 

Instr Poss-lSg spear 

'If you had come I would have given you my spear.' 

356) HA ka a-Ilis ua ta kA-g suIa II mAn ku serei 
ISgSAgr Inl Cs-give Obj2Sg Instr Poss-lSg if 2SgSAgr arrive 

'I will give you my spear if you come.' 

68 



Tungak Grammar Essentials 

The conjunction niAn may also indicate a temporal condition as well as a real condition. 
The particle le 'first' re-inforccs the temporal rather than conditional sense of lliis sentence. 

357) mAtt kA. angan ssip le II kA pAsal 
when 3SgSAgr eat completely first BSgSAgr go 
'When he is finished eating he will go.' 

5.3 Complex Sentence 

A complex sentence is here defined as one in which two or more sentence types join 
together and form one sentence. An example of this type of sentence is the following: 

Sentence = (mAn-Clause +Main Clause) +sifcei-Clause 

358) nun ku la ago e kke II /cauvcIc parik kA la pa 
if 2SgSAgr Past be at here dog not 3SgSAgr Pcrf Neg 

angan a pur a ke II sikei ku la kkovek 

eat Def chicken this but 2SgSAgr Past absent 

'If you would have been here the dog would not have eaten this chicken but you 
were not here.' 

Another example: 

359) kA la po sumA-sumA II asi Ica-aa ssip II sikci using a 
3SgS Agr Perf Cont Redup-hurry Pur Poss-3Sg flee but because Def 

kene ang kA po masalai // Icnginang 

snake E>cm 3SgS Agr Cont masalai already 

kA la pAsal a-ulit i-A 

3SgSAgr Perf go Cs-round Obj-3Sg 

'She hurried in order to escape but because the snake was a masalai it had already 
encircled her.' 

5.4 Sentence Periphery 

The time phrase is viewed as a peripheral element of the sentence. It can occur sentence 
initially and finally. 

360) anongo ki la pAsal 
yesterday 3PlurSAgr Past go 
'Yesterday they went.' 

361) ki la pAsal anongo 
3PlurSAgr Past go yesterday 
'They went yesterday.' 

69 



Lesley Fast 

Exclamations arc also peripheral elements at the sentence level. These occur sentence 
initially and include exclamations of afrirmation, negation, surprise and sympathy. 
Following are a few common examples: 

362) io, kA /a Icxmus e kke 
yes 3SgSAgr Pcrf finish at here 
'Yes, it is finished here.' 

363) puA, kA po vongo Iava 
Excl 3SgSAgr Com pig big 
'Wow! it is a big pig! ' 

364) parik, ku ago pok 
no 2SgSAgr stay back 
'No, you stay back.' 

6 Figures of Speech 

Figures of speech are used to express a number of things. In the relatively short period of 
my study of the language I have not observed very many uses of figurative language. 
Probably the most common type I have observed is the use of body parts. 

6.1 Body Part Figures of Speech 

Since the occurrence in my observation is limited I will simply give a few representative 
examples. 

Reference to the eye can mean opinion or wimess. 

365) HA la bil a-rikek e mAU-rU i ri vap 
ISgSAgr Past do Cs-bad in eye-3PlurPoss Gen Plur people 
'1 did wrong in the opinion of the people.' 

The idea of structure can be expressed by the word tuAn 'bone'. 

366) tiua palau i la kx po lung 
bone just Gen house 3SgSAgr Cont stand 
'Just the frame of the house is standing.' 

Pregnancy is commonly expressed with the word vingA 'stomach'. 

367) ki po a-togon vingA 
3PlurSAgr(Hon) Cont Cs-nave stomach 
'She is pregnant.' 

The word for reason comes from the word tukul 'root or base' 

368) tukul-ai i lu ta ki po longong bot 
root? Gen 3Sg ? 3PlurSAgr Com hear deaf 
'The reason of it is that they disobey.' 

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Tungak Grammar Essentials 

6.2 Other Figures of Speech 

6.2.1 Metaphor 

1 have heard things being referred to by use of metaphor. In referring to an important taboo 
relationship, the coastal term kuiuur 'point' was used to express the relationship. The 
relationship is said to be a point that one cannot go around. 

369) ang-mAgAu-nm Ica po kwuur i Uv vulis 
Recip-taboo.relationship-? 3SgSAgr Cont point Gen Neg go.around.point 
"The relationship of "magAu" is a point that cannot be gone around.' 

6.2.2 Simile 

Simile is used to describe something by relating it to something similar. The comparative 
connective val 'like' is used in this type of expression. 

370) kA po bil luai val misus 
3SgSA^r Cont thing Ints like whitc.woman 
'She is just like a white woman.' 

371) Aa po bil val vim 
3SgSAgr Cont thing like betelnut 
'It is like betelnut' 



Data Papers on Papua New Guinea Languages 

Volume 37 



Two Grammatical Studies 



Edited by John R. Roberts 



Summer Institute of Linguistics 
Ukarumpa via Lae 
Papua New Guinea 



Papers in the series Data Papers oi\ Papua New Guii\ea Languages (formerly 
Workpapers in Papua New Guinea Languages) express the author's knowledge at 
the time of writing. They do not necessarily provide a complete treatment of 
their topic. However, it is felt that these papers should be made available at 
this time. 

John M. Clifton, Series Editor 



Copyright © 1990 by the 

Summer Institute of Linguistics 

Ukanimpa via Lae 

Papua New Guinea 



Published 1990 



Printed by the SIL Printing Department 
Ukanimpa via Lae 
Papua New Guinea 



ISBN 9980 0542 4